Year of The Dog
by Teddy1994
Summary: No summery, just read. This is about an OC. Kyo/OC Yuki/Tohru. Rated M for a little swearing.
1. Introducing Amanda Cho

"Tohru, get up. We don't want to be late for school" I poked the sleeping girl awake, smiling when she jumped up.

Hello, my name is Amanda Cho. I'm Japanese American, mom was Japanese, and dad was some hot American just passing through. I just called him my sperm donor. Anyway, I live in a tent with my best friend Tohru Honda. Sound's kinda strange right? Two sixteen year old's living on their own in a tent? But its only temporary, for Tohru at least. Her mom died last May, I had been living with them at the time, so we moved into Grandpa Honda's house. Her dad's dad. But then some of her dad's relative's were moving in, and the house needed renovation's. So we told him we could stay with some friends while we moved into our cool little baccalaureate pad. AKA, the little yellow tent that can barely fit one person let alone two.

I crawled out of the tent, holding my book bag so that no grass got caught on it, and said a quiet goodbye to the little picture of Kyoko, Tohru's mom and an amazing woman. She took me in when I really needed it most, so I had made a promise to always look after Tohru to the best of my abilities. Tohru said her goodbye's and crawled out next to me, shielding her eyes from the bright sun.

"Its still early Mandy, let's look around" She smiled brightly, her brown eyes twinkling. I could never say no to that face. And believe me, I've tried.

So I looped my arm through her's and blew a strand of blue hair out of my face, yes, blue hair. I dyed the strands framing my face the same deep blue as my eyes. The rest of my hair was a pale blonde, those were the only two things that I inherited from my S.D., sperm donor. Tohru lead me down a path that I'd never seen before, there was a huge house a little way threw the tree's.

"What a pretty house." Murmured Tohru, she took a well worn path down to the mansion.

"Yeah" I said, following her. "Whoever lives here must be loaded."

I rested a hand on her arm, leaning around her to look at what caught her attention. They were small figurines, of the twelve zodiac animal's.

"Awe. . . how cute" she smiled

"Mhm, but look. . ." I scanned over them, "No cat, bummer."

"How rare" A mans voice said, "There are two girl's here? And high school student's no less"

I squeaked, jumping back. The man was wearing a nice kimono, one meant for lazing around and relaxing. Which looked like what he meant to do, he had an unfolded newspaper in his hands. And while I was examining the obvious owner of the house, Tohru was apologizing.

"He-Hello! I'm sorry we were looking around without your permission!" She spazzed, blushing crazily.

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Down girl, no need to panic."

"Quite right," he said, "You can look if you want, I only put them out for some sunshine"

How. . . strange. But everyone had their own oddities, mine was animals. I wanted to be a vet when I get my diploma.

"Young people like you would think its boring." He smiled down at us.

Young people. . . he couldn't be that old, he was so handsome. I reached out to touch the dog ornament with the tip of my finger, I was born in the year of the dog, just like Tohru.

"Oh no, the twelve animal ornaments are very cute!" Tohru said blushing.

I nodded my agreement," Yup, but you're missing one" I said placing a hand on my hip.

"Oh really?" He seemed genuinely confused, "And which one would that be?"

"You, sir, are missing the cat" I said, tapping the button on my bag with an orange tabby on it. "The cat always seems to be getting left out don't you think?"

He looked surprised that we would know about the cat, "Cat? Ah. . . you have never. . . heard of the story about the cat in the twelve animal zodiac?"

"Yeah. . ." Tohru beamed, "Mom used to tell me the story"

I smiled sadly and put a hand on her head, this was before I had moved in with Tohru and Kyoko.

__**God told the animal's, "Tomorrow I'll invite you to my banquette. You must not be late" After**__

__**hearing the new's the rat, who loved practical joke's, told its neighbor, the cat, that**__

__**the date of the banquette was the day after tomorrow.**__

__**On that day, the rat jumped off of the ox. He had ridden on his back the whole way.**__

__**He went in first, and then came the Ox, and then came**__

__**the Tiger and everyone else. The celebration lasted until the next**__

__**morning, everyone having fun, accept the deceived cat.**__

"And so I told her, ' I'm going to be a cat!', that's how much I like cat's" Tohru finished.

"Oh?" He murmured, "If the guy found, out how would her react?" he said the last part so quietly I barely heard him.

"What?" I asked, slightly confused.

"~Nothing~" He sang, "So you're a year of the dog?" He looked at me, "Then what are you?"

I smiled, wiping some blue hair out of my face. "Me? I'm a year of the Dog, which kinda sucks considering how much I like cats"

He grinned at us both, "So you're sign is a dog right?" He leaned in closer, "No wonder I feel so close to you, don't you? Because I am also a dog-"

I was about to pull Tohru closer to me when a book bag whacked him on the back of the head, "Hey. . ."

"You look more like a pedophile like this" Yuki Sohma said, standing there in all his princely glory, "Shame on you, moving closer and closer."

"It hurts!" He whined, like a kicked puppy, "What did you put in your book-bag, a dictionary or a porcelain bowl?"

"Mmm two dictionaries" He murmured, then he smiled down at us,"Miss Honda Miss Cho, are you okay? I hope my cousin didn't do anything weird."

Tohru was ramrod stiff in shock, "Y-Yuki! Good morning!"

I smiled at our school's royalty, "Hey Yuki, good morning"

He smiled at us again, "Good morning"

The man stood up rubbing his head," I'm Shigure Sohma, Yuki's cousin"

Tohru and I bowed,"How are you, I am Tohru Honda"

"And I'm Amanda Cho, I'm happy to meet a member of the Mysterious Yuki's family" I grinned, Yuki ignored this.

"Miss Honda, Miss Cho." Yuki asked, "Why are you here?"

Tohru blushed, not expecting this question. How does one say 'I live in a tent' nicely? Oh yeah, one doesn't. So, I answered for her.

"We live near by" I waved my hand vaguely, catching a look at my watch in the same movement,"Oh, Tohru, we're going to be late if we don't leave now"

I smiled and made polite conversation while we walked, Tohru was too flustered to speak. I caught a glimpse of the Yuki Sohma Fan Club. Uh-oh, we were going to catch shit when we got to school. Damn.

~LINE BREAK~

"Tohru Honda and Amanda Cho! What happened this morning?"

Sure enough, here they were. I stood in front of Tohru with my arms crossed over my chest, "Back off, he saw us walking alone this morning and joined us. It was a coincidence, got it?"

"If you can use the word 'Coincidence' why do we need detective's?" The leader shouted at us, her little lackeys adding in their two cent's,"Don't think just because Yuki was nice to you, you can think highly of yourself. . .WAHT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE?"

Tohru was shaking her head in denial desperately, I was about to tell them to shove it when a low female voice came from behind us.

"Hey. . ." Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima were there, "Didn't they say it was a coincidence? You don't need to keep making a fool out of yourself"

"Why should I?" Leader Girl bristled, "Look who's interrupting this!"

Saki looked darkly, "Let's use the Poisonous Electric Pulse Attack. . ." She's psychic.

The girls sprinted off down the hall way, making me grin at the goth girl, "You're awesome, you know that?"

She smiled at me before turning her attention to Tohru, Arisa had already pulled the girl into her arms. Both girls had a major soft spot for Tohru, I thought of them as her impromptu parent's. Which made sense, they knew her before I did. I had come into the scene not long after Saki. Tohru had sorta. . . adopted us, you could say.

"What a meaningless problem. . ." Arisa sighed, "Hana, don't really use the Electric Pulse."

~LINE BREAK~

All four of us had Home Economics together, so Tohru told them about this morning. The much edited version.

"Yuki is so charming, he makes my heart race and my face red" She sighed.

I chuckled, chopping up some cucumber, "I did most of the talking, he doesn't seem so bad. Really polite, but not in a standoffish way."

"I. . ." Saki put her knife away, "Can feel some mysterious electric signal's coming from him"

"Here come's Hana's electric waves again" Arisa rested her chin on her hand.

"Is it really that intriguing?" Asked Tohru innocently.

"I'm not very sure myself. . ." Said Saki.

"A while ago, there was a second year girl wanting to show him her feeling's. When she went to hug him. . ." Arisa paused, "He pushed her away and scared her"

I put my knife away,"Maybe, he doesn't like to be touched? What would you do, Arisa, if some boy you barely knew went to hug you?"

She'd probably nail him in his soft parts with her lead pipe. Yeah, she has one of them stashed in her room.

Tohru, Arisa, and Saki spoke for a bit more before the teacher came over to check on us

"You four, don't use your mouth and not your hands. . ." She saw the clearly set out food, "Wha. . . how. . ."

"Stupid! It's already cooked, the octopus too" Arisa said in a 'duh!' voice.

"How can you feel so good? Miss Honda and Miss Cho made everything!"She ranted

"The rice is also done" Saki said.

Arisa waited until the teacher walked away before asking us about shopping with her and Saki, I shook my head as Tohru spoke. I had to work, I worked at a small bakery/cafe making sweet's and the like.

"You still living with your father's relative's?" Arisa asked us.

I let Tohru deal with that one, I suck at telling lies.

School went by quickly, I worried about Tohru all through work, and was exhausted by the time I stumbled through the tent flap. Tohru arrived not long after.

"I'm home Mandy, mom. I really want to sleep, but I have so much homework to do. I'll just go wash my face to wake up" She grabbed a rag.

"Oh, Tohru, please be careful-" She froze mid way through the tent entrance, "Tohru-?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I peeked my head out, Yuki and his cousin Shigure were standing outside the tent gawking at us. Well. . . Yuki looked politely confused, and Shigure started laughing even harder when I came into view.

"Oh dear," I sighed, "Look's like we've been outed, huh, Tohru?"


	2. The Animal Within

"So when did you start living in the tent?" Yuki asked

We were sitting at the table in their dining room and Shigure was still being an ass and laughing in the corner. I really don't see the humor in this situation.

"About a week ago," I said quietly, then I shot an annoyed glance at Shigure, "Jeez, its not that funny"

"Never mind him. I thought it was strange," Yuki said, "This whole hill belongs to the Sohma family, we didn't sell or lease any land"

"Please," Tohru begged, "Let us stay here for a little while longer? After the renovation is finished, we'll leave strait away. Although, I don't have much. . . but I can pay you! Please!"

I looked at her, worrying, she was getting all pale and glassy eyed.

"Its dangerous there! The ground is loose and there are pervert's wandering around, a girl can't live in a tent for that long, let alone two." Shigure said suddenly serious.

"Done laughing at our expense?" I asked statistically

"No problem!" Tohru shot into a standing position, "I'm already used to the insect's! I have the energy __and __the drive!"

Then she slid to her knee's in a feint, I caught her and pressed a hand to her forehead. She had a fever!

"Tohru!" I said worried, "You've been pushing yourself too hard again!"

"First, I'll get some ice!" Shigure opened the door to his kitchen, "Ah. . . where is it?"

The place was a total mess, piles of garbage bags cluttering it up. It was a fire hazard if I've ever seen one. How did they even use their kitchen?

"Oh jeez," I muttered, "And you think the wood's are unsafe"

But he wasn't paying any attention to me, he was looking out the window with a serious expression on his face, "uh-oh, look's like its going to landslide. The last storm made the soil soft and loose"

"How would you know?" Tohru asked

"Mmm? This is called a wildlife ability" He said, trying to look insightful and serious, and failing.

"Idiot" I muttered, "Well? Where is it?"

"Maybe. . ." Tohru looked at him, "Could it be near our tent?"

"It can't be that coincidental" he said

"Then where is it?" Asked Yuki

As it turn's out, yes, yes it can be that coincidental. Our tent was completely covered in mud and plant's. Tohru gasped and rushed foreword.

"No! Mom's picture is still in there!" She started clawing at the mound of dirt on top of the tent.

I pulled her away into a hug, "Tohru, I know, but you still have a fever! Kyoko wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, I'll come back with you in the morning to dig her out okay?"

We got her back to the house, reluctantly, and into bed. I knelt down next to her and held her hand, like I used to when she had nightmare's.

"I'm sorry," She said, "Now. . . I've lost my house again"

"Oh Tohru. . ." I murmured

Shigure sat across from me on her other side, "You fell really bad don't you?"

"No, because I know there are worse thing's"

"Like what?" He asked, "Tell me!"

"I didn't tell her to be careful on the road, the day of the car accident" She said.

I blinked back the tear's pricking my eyes. She was going to tell them about the accident, I cried when I thought about it for too long.

"Because I had a test, I studied until morning and overslept. I couldn't get up, only that morning. I usually. . . every morning I would say it, only that day. . . I didn't want to attend high school, I wanted to work. But mom said, 'I only finished middle school, but I wanted to be in high school. So you must try the high school life for me' I knew she always worked hard for me. But I didn't tell her to be careful, I didn't even watch her leave."

By now I could feel the tear's creeping down my cheek's, I used my blue bang's to hide my eyes. I gripped her hand in both of mine and listened to her speak.

"I"m so stupid! Even if I failed, or the house got blown away, I really don't care. The most important thing is mom, so at least. . . I'll finish mom's wish and enter high school and finish it. I cant lose to a little fever."

A handkerchief was put in my lap, I sniffed and wiped at my cheek's, "Sorry, you must think I'm a big crybaby"

"Not at all, is she asleep?" Yuki asked

"You heard?" Shigure asked

"I'm shocked" He said, "At school, she's always very happy. As if pain and suffering don't ever come close. She is tough"

I took the ice pack from him and wrapped the towel around it, sticking it under her pillow, he has no idea just how tough Tohru really is.

"I wanted to leave the Sohma family. . . but I still end up staying on Sohma family land. If I really hated this life I should be like Miss Honda and live in a tent or go to some unknown place. I am so naive. . . right?" Yuki said

I shook my head and crawled underneath the cover's with Tohru, "I think we're all a little naive in some way's, its what keep's us human"

They might have said something, but I was out before my head even touched the pillow.

~LINE BREAK~

I was up before Tohru, Yuki had dug out all of our thing's while we were asleep. I had managed to find a shirt and a pair of pant's that weren't filthy, the shirt had Domo on it and my pant's were ripped at the knee's. Poor Tohru's thing's weren't so lucky, they were covered in dirt. While we were waiting for Tohru to wake up he asked me about all my book's about animal anatomy.

"oh, those" I blushed, "I want to be a vet when I graduate. Silly right?"

He shook his head, "No its not, I think it's a good choice" He looked at the door that hid Tohru, "Are you and Miss Honda related?"

"As good as" I said, "Tohru and Kyoko, her mom, saved me from myself" When he looked confused I elaborated, "I met Tohru in middle school, my mom and I had just moved to town, and I was an idiot then. I was so angry at everything, and everyone. Blaming everything bad in my life on anybody else but myself. I was such a bitch!"

Yuki's startled expression made me laugh, he obviously not used to girl's using foul language. Good thing he never met my mother.,"But then, this adorable girl is looking at me with these big brown eyes asking me to hang out with her at lunch. Me, being the sucker for cute things that I am, I was sunk."

I sighed, "I don't know what I would do without that girl, Arisa and Saki too. I'd probably be in some gang, or in a ditch."

Then a much more pressing matter filled my mind, "And now, we need to find somewhere else to stay"

The door behind me slammed open, revealing Tohru a sleeping kimono. She looked confused, and slightly panicked. I didn't blame her.

Yuki smiled at her, "Good morning Miss Honda, how are you feeling?" he asked

I stood and felt her forehead, "Your fever is gone, that's good. Hey, Yuki got all our thing's out of the tent for us!"

Yuki held out the photo of her mom, "Take it, your photo. Like Miss Cho said, all of your belonging's are dug up, make sure they're yours"

"What!" She shouted,"Yuki, you dug up all that dirt? How is that possible?"

You smiled secretively, "It's a secret"

Okay, creepy. . .

Tohru didn't seem to think so, she bowed deeply, "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!"

His next words surprised us both, "Mmm, then I'll take both your belonging's upstairs"

"Ah?" We both said in surprise.

"This house is pretty dirty, and has only boys living here. But there's an empty bedroom on the second floor. Until renovations are finished, you can stay here" Yuki offered.

"No!" Tohru turned red, "No, I object!"

I was speechless, why on earth would he offer such a thing. He barely knew us!

"Object. . . ah, that room has a lock" Yuki assured us.

Now I turned red, "She didn't mean it that way-"

"Tohru, Amanda, do you like house chore's?" Shigure's voice came from behind us.

Tohru and I jumped clutching each other, scared out of our whits.

"For example, the cooking and cleaning kind of thing" He said happily

"Yes, we do. Why?" I asked

"Welcome to the Sohma family!" He took our meager belonging's from Yuki, "Because the room has always been locked go open the window, ah, we need to get some key's made. Yuki lend Tohru some of your clothes"

"Oh but you've done so much. . . I can't bother you with housing!" Tohru said panicking.

"We've already made so much trouble though," I said, "We don't want to intrude!"

"Miss Honda, Miss Cho. We suggested this, its no trouble at all" Yuki said

"But-" We said

"Besides, you don't have anywhere to go do you?" He said

That shut us up, we really had nowhere else to go. Unless we wanted to be reamed by Arisa. Saki would just give us that. . . look. Ugh, I shuddered just thinking about it.

"For not making anymore trouble, would you please tell us the rules and traditions of the Sohma family?" Tohru asked

"Yeah," I said, "We wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable, this is your house"

"That's okay" Yuki said, "Tohru, all you need to do is be yourself. Be at ease in this family, you only have to be yourself"

I smirked, not missing the way he only addressed her. And called her by her first name, I tucked that scheme away as he gave her some of his clothes to wear. I would have, but my clothes wouldn't fit her. I was bigger around the chest and hips. Once she was done Yuki lead us to the room we were supposed to share.

"Its still musty in here, I'm going to open the window's" Yuki moved to open the windows

Then the weirdest thing happened, the roof exploded. I instantly moved so I was in front of of Tohru so I could protect her from whatever caused the roof to explode.

"Yo!" A boy our age stood in front of me, he was wearing a tight black Tee and a pair of cargo pants. He had the orangest hair I've ever seen, and the most well defined shoulders, I could feel my cheeks heating up in a blush.

"You've been waiting for me, haven't you rat-boy?" he said

"Why. . . every time you're here, you make a mess" Yuki said, "Haven't you had enough? You're so weak!"

Uh-oh, Yuki was taunting this guy? Was he crazy!

"Bastard. . . I'll make you fell like I felt last time, I'll pay you back!" He fisted his hands in front of himself, "Lets go!"

"Please. . . please wait!" Tohru lurched foreword, knocking me off balance and right into carrot-top's back.

"Oh jeez!" I gasped, "I am so sorry! Are you. . ."

In my hands was an orange. . . "Cat. Your a cat." I blinked, nope, still there. "Did I. . . break him or something?"

"Oh no! This is my fault! We've got to take him to the hospital!" Tohru wailed, "The doctors will cure him!"

I just sat there stupidly, staring at an orange cat that was once a boy. Then a piece of wood fell and landed on Tohru's head, making her fall and land on Yuki and Shigure. There were two more poof's of smoke and a dog and a rat were in their place.

"Holy shit!" I said

Tohru scooped them up and bolted down the stairs, I followed at a slower pace with the cat-boy in my hands. The delivery man was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, Tohru ran up to him screaming. I just sat on the stairs, dazed.

"****THEY"RE ALL ANIMALS!"****

"Ah yes, they are animals. The Sohma's raise pets?" He tipped his hat up, "A total of 1600 yen please"

The dog took a wallet to the man, "Ah ha ha ha! What a clever dog, thank you for your business!"

Then he was gone, and the cat jumped out of my arms.

"Ahhh! You guys changed too, you can't blame this on me!" the cat yelled, it sounded like carrot-top.

"You let your guard down first, you stupid cat!" the rat yelled, it sounded like Yuki.

Then the dog barked, "There is no other way, why don't we just tell them?"

Oh god, I think I'm gonna puke.


	3. No Punishment

I crouched next to Tohru and reached out to touch the Shigure/dog's shoulder. Yup, he was really there. So I wasn't hallucinating.

"In other words, I'm the dog, Yuki's the rat, and he is Kyo Sohma, the cat. We are possessed by the twelve animals, and the cat, and there are ten other people in the Sohma house like us," He said, "Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Pig. Yes, like the twelve zodiac animals. From several hundred year's ago the Sohma family has been possessed with the twelve zodiac animal's" A hiss came from Kyo and Shigure shot him an annoyed look, "Yes, yes, and the cat. Anyway," He looked back at us, "When our bodies are weak, or if we're hugged by a member if the opposite sex, for some reason we transform."

Tohru was sitting there with a hand limply outstretched, I had brought my own hand back to myself and was holding it to my mouth.

"After a while we transform back to our human form," there were three poof's of smoke, "But we're completely naked"

Tohru and I whirled around, her squeaking, and me making an odd strangled scream. This was amazing, and such a big secret, the story about the second year girl and Yuki made so much more sense now, he was protecting his secret!

After the guy's were dressed we moved the conversation to the dining room table, Kyo sat away from us, sulking.

"By the way Amanda, Tohru, you said you like the cat. Now that you've seen the real thing, what do you think?" Shigure asked

I grinned, looking over at the carrot-top, "Oh! What's he like?"

"Just a big idiot! For someone who studied martial arts, he can get easily grabbed from the back! He should have at least sensed you!" Shigure said, waving his hand in front of his face, "He only has eyes for Yuki!"

"Don't say it like that! I didn't notice them what can I do?" Kyo shouted at him, "Plus, they shouldn't even be here!"

Oh dear. . . he seemed really angry, should I say something?

"Quiet!" Yuki said, "Whether there is one girl, or two, its none of your business. Because you are only an outsider!"

I saw what was going to happen next, that was the only way I could have actually done what I did. I shove Tohru out of the way when Kyo punched the table, breaking it in half. My half flipped up to smack me in the forehead. I blinked, dazed, "Ouch"

"Amanda! You're bleeding!" Shigure gasped

That's when I became aware of the trickle of blood running down my face, "What!? Oh shoot, I'm sorry-"

__SMACK! __Yuki slapped Kyo across the face.

"I know you're dumb, but I never thought you were this dumb. . ." Shigure sighed

Tohru was fussing over my scratch, but I was more worried by the brewing fight. Yuki undid the top button on his shirt.

"Today, just for your stupidity, I'll be especially serious and fight you! Kyo. . . You're not going to bore me, are you?" Yuki asked

Kyo smirked, "Just what I want to hear. . . girly-boy!"

Tohru gasped when he threw a kick, "Y-Yuki!"

"Don't worry, their relationship has always been extremely bad. Whenever they see each other they will argue, and then they fight." Shigure said, "For now, lets just stop Amanda's bleeding"

I reached up to touch the scratch and winced, not so smart, "But shouldn't we stop them?" I asked quietly.

"There's no need, it'll be over soon, win or lose" He peeled the bandage, "And today should be the same, Yuki will win"

Tohru and I yelped when Yuki kicked Kyo so hard he went flying through the paper door. "I said don't bore me"

"You shouldn't destroy the house too Yuki" Shigure scolded

"I never thought he would fly that far, he didn't put up any guard at all." He leaned down in front of me and Tohru, "Miss Honda, Miss Cho, are you okay?"  
>"Ah! I'm perfectly fine!" Tohru said<p>

I stood and peeked past what used to be a door, "I'll live, but is he going to be okay? He landed pretty hard. . . and on the rocks too"

"He'll be okay, I'm more worried about the garden" Yuki said

Suddenly Tohru stood and shouted, "School! I'm going to be late!"

She whizzed out and changed back into her school uniform, which was completely covered in dirt.

"Tohru, honey, your uniform is filthy" I said fixing her with my best Mom Look.

It went right over her head, "No problem! I'll just say I tripped and fell, it'll be okay!" she wiped at her shirt in a futile attempt to wipe the dirt off, "With this situation, I'm sorry, but I have to go to school. It's the one thing I promised my mom"

I smiled and rested my head on her shoulder, "I love you Tohru"

"But I have to report to Akito, the current head of the Sohma family, about this. Because someone knows about the Sohma families biggest secret" Shigure said

"That's okay" I said, "You do whatever you need to to be comfortable."

"Yes" Tohru agreed, "The head of the Sohma family must be an interesting person, I understand. I'm going to school, are you coming to school Mandy?"

"I am going to get started on our laundry," I pointed at my pants and shirt, "These are my only clean clothes, tell Arisa and Saki I said hi!"

While we were talking Kyo had taken off, so when she left I started walking in the direction he ran, "I'll be back you too, Yuki, if you go to school make sure she doesn't hurt herself or something, okay!"I waved once before jogging into the tree's.

I started calling him as soon as I hit the tree's, "Kyo! Hello!" and when that got nothing, "Er. . . here kitty kitty. . ."

"What the hell do you want?"

I yelped and spun around clutching my chest, Kyo stood there looking at me with a sullen face. I relaxed slightly, "Oh jeez, make some noise when you move, would ya!" then I winced and rubbed some blue hair out of my face, "Sorry. . . I didn't come here to snap at you"

He looked surprised at my apology, red eyes growing wider just a fraction. Then he was scowling at me again, "So what do you want, girl?"

"My name is Amanda, or Mandy. Whichever. But I wanted to apologies for earlier" I smiled crookedly, "Sorry for falling on you before"

He looked unsure what to say, so I turned to get back to the house, I'd said what I'd come to say.

"Hey!"

"Yes?" I spun back around in surprise

"About earlier. . . I'm no good at talking to people-" He cut off looking away from me, a pink tinge on his cheek's, "I- I'm-"

He was trying to apologies for the table! I smiled brightly, "It's okay!" I reached up and knocked on the side of my head, "no damage done, thank you! But if it had been Tohru it would have been me kicking you through the door!"

"Oh really?" He asked, sounding amused by the idea.

"Okay, maybe not" I admitted sheepishly, "But I would have been angry, and yelled a lot. But, now I've gotta go do our laundry and call someone about a ceiling!"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked past me, "Nah. . . I'll take care of it"

I smiled slightly at his back, he seemed hard and brash at first, but he really was just a shy person. Then he turned back,

"Hey! You coming?"

"Yes!" I hurried foreword, "Sorry, sorry!"

When we arrived back at the house I found the laundry room and stuffed Tohru's clothing in first, then I grabbed a broom and ran upstairs to help Kyo clean up the mess in the room. I made myself busy downstairs with the clothes when Tohru got home so Kyo could try to apologies to her. But Shigure got home in time to prevent that.

"I'm back!" He shouted, "Tohru, Yuki, Amanda, I'm back! And the slow, careless, lose in a fight Kyo. . ."

Kyo came storming downstairs and out the newly fixed paper door, Tohru hurrying down after him. I walked out of the laundry room and sighed.

"Was that necessary?" I asked. He ignored me.

Yuki walked down and leaned against the wall, looking expectantly at Shigure.

"Good News! Akito says that if Tohru and Amanda can keep our secret then they can live with us!" He said

"No punishment?" Tohru asked

"No punishment, but you must keep our secret okay!" he said

I nodded, to busy smiling to answer. We get to keep our memories! And I get to get to know Kyo better, hopefully.

"There's one more thing. . ." Shigure said, "Kyo has to stay with us"

"Hey. . ." Kyo glowered at him from his spot on the deck surrounding the house, "You mean I have to live with Yuki under the same roof?"

"Akito's decision can't be changed!" Shigure chided

"WHAT A JOKE! That annoying Akito!" Kyo shouted

I smiled, this was home now. Not some grubby tent. Tohru walked over to Shigure and Yuki and bowed.

"Although its strange to say it again I have to. Nice to meet you, please take care of me. I'll be troubling you from now on."

"Mmm" Yuki didn't seem to know what to say, ". . . welcome."

Tohru went over to Kyo and bowed to his back, "Pl-pleased to meet you Kyo. . ."

"Who are you pleased to meet? In this house. . ." BAM! Yuki kicked him through the door.

"Oh dear. . ." I sighed, "Never a dull moment in this house is there?"

"Nope!" Shigure smiled, "Welcome home!"

"I'll get the tape. . ."


	4. Butler's, Entrance Exam's, and Window's

Tohru and I stayed in the kitchen the next day, cleaning it out. I focused on the cleaning while Tohru took care of the kitchen utensils. We even found a rice cooker. . . in the trash.

"Impressive. . ." Yuki looked around, amazed at the cleanliness, "I can hardly believe you two cleaned the kitchen"

"Because we worked hard cleaning up!" Tohru grinned, "Dinner's almost ready too!"

"There's a rice cooker in the house?" Yuki asked

"We dug it out of the trash" I chuckled at the chagrined look on his face.

Tohru and had split the chores in half, she'll take care of the cooking and grocery chopping while I took care of household chores and things. Though I was an okay cook, I mainly baked sweet's.

We sat at the table ready to eat, Yuki took the first bite, "Mmm, very delicious"

"Really?" Tohru asked, "Its not too bland?"

"Tohru" I took a bite, "Your cooking is never bland, it perfect"

"Its just right" Yuki agreed, "I haven't tasted food this great in a long time"

Tohru smiled, happy for no other reason than to be happy.

"But where did Shigure and that stupid cat go?" Asked Yuki

"They left early this morning" I murmured, Shigure had been nicely spiffed up.

"I've been wondering too," Tohru said, "Its getting late"

"don't be concerned," Yuki munched his rice, "But its just a waist to let good food go cold"

"Amen to that rat-boy" I smiled, to show it was an endearment

I ate my food listening to the two speak, when Yuki mentioned having a secret base Tohru had a spazz attack. The boy's when she was younger had one, but it had been no girls aloud. They'd had one when I was younger too, but I was such a tom boy that I hadn't counted.

BAM!

"Kyo, I said listen to me for a second!" Shigure chided

"Shut Up!" Kyo shouted back

I put my rice bowl down and tried to calm my racing heart, the door slamming sent it into hyper drive.

"I'm gonna explode! Do you enjoy manipulating people?" Kyo ranted

"Wait a second!" Shigure growled, "Although I do enjoy it, this is for your own good!"

"You're not being the least bit persuasive!" Kyo shouted

"Welcome back" I said, trying to stop the yelling, "Dinner's ready!"

"I'm not eating!" Kyo yelled, storming out of the room

I wrinkled my nose and stuck my tongue out at his retreating back, mature I know.

"Kyo! Don't take it out on Amanda! And enter from the main entrance, and don;t forget to take off your shoes!" Shigure lectured, while hopping on in foot to take off his shoes.

"You're one to talk" I muttered

"This is the first time I've seen you in a suit!" Tohru gushed, "You look great!"

Shigure smirked and leaned down close to her, "Oh really now. . ."

"You look like a butler" Yuki and I said

"Oh!" He sat down, "~Dinner's ready~" He sang

"Oh, uh, Kyo. . ." Tohru said, worrying about the cat boy

"Him?" Shigure waved away her concern, "He's only prowling around and throwing one of his temper tantrums, don't mind him" He smiled, "Because I tricked him into taking a transfer student entrance test"

"Really?How do you trick someone into taking a transfer test?" I asked

"Transfer?" Asked Tohru

"Which means starting tomorrow, Kyo will be going to the same high school with you" Shigure said happily

Yuki stood abruptly, "You can't eat. You can't be near. Get. Out."

I covered my mouth to stifle my giggles, his reaction was funny!

"Kyo," Shigure sighed, "Even after he made it into an all boy's school, he didn't want to go. He disappeared for four months. Nobody knew where he went or what he was doing, but he told me today, he was training in the mountains"

Training in the mountains all alone, how hard must that have been. I stood and helped Tohru clear the table, poor guy. He was holding a grudge for something that didn't even happen to him, how hard that must be for him. I would get tired of being angry all the time. I did get tired of being angry all the time, I was so angry before Tohru arrived in my life.

The rest of the day went uneventfully, but school the next day was a whole nother thing. Kyo was just as popular as Yuki.

"Where? Where?"

"Over there! The one with the orange hair!"

"Eh? They don't look alike!"

"How cute. . ."

"That hair color is natural?"

"Are you really Yuki's cousin? Are you two close?"

I bit my lip and sat on a desk, the poor guy looked ready to freak out. And all those girls, it was an accident waiting to happen.

"His hair color look's a bit like Kyoko's!" Arisa said

"Right! It does doesn't it!"Tohru clapped her hands together.

"Yes, the same" Saki said, "Same. . . is the same. . . I can feel the same electromagnetic waves Yuki has"

I laughed nervously, it was nerve wracking to have a psychic friend. Then Kyo stood abruptly and started walking/running to the door. One of the girls grabbed his arm giggling, that's when all hell broke loose, Kyo grabbed her arm and flipped her over and into the ground.

"Kyo!" I stood, not quite sure what to do.

"Stay away from me!" He shouted, "Leave me alone!" and then he jumped out the window.

"Oh no. . . Tohru" I gripped her hand and we went looking for him.

We found him and Yuki in the tennis court, it was abandoned. They were about to get into a fight, and Tohru being Tohru lunged foreword, making Kyo transform.

"I know you're very angry, but you can't fight. If you fight at, at school something bad may happen" Tohru said quickly

"Hey. . . just shut up!" Kyo snapped, "I don't care if something bad may happen, beating Yuki will be good! Don't bother me! What are you doing?"

He was pushing it, I took a step foreword, "Kyo. . ." I said warningly

"You're in the way!" He shouted

Tohru got up mechanically and walked quickly away. I put my hands on my hips and glared down at him.

"I hope you're happy!" I snapped, "She's probably going to go hide in a corner and cry" His ears pressed back against his skull, "And knowing her, she doesn't blame you, she thinks its her fault" I turned and began walking away, so I spoke over my shoulder, "Oh don't worry, she'll forgive you without an apology, that's just how she is. But stay away from me until you've apologized to her"

I stormed away to find her, you screw with Tohru, you screw with me. I found her sitting under a fire extinguisher cabinet, Saki and Arisa arrived at the same time I did.

"I received Tohru's electric signals," Saki said pointing at Tohru

"Ah, here!" Arisa said, "What are you doing here? Class is starting. . ."

Tohru lurched up, intentionally banging her head on the cabinet above her. I sighed and covered my face with my hand, only she would hurt herself to keep others from knowing she was distressed. After school, work dragged on until eleven thirty, and I was still steaming about what had happened earlier. I can't believe he yelled at Tohru like that. I was halfway home when I got the scare of my life.

"Hey!"

"Kya!" I screamed, spinning around. It was Kyo, "My god! Do you do that on purpose?"

He just stood there looking uncomfortable, so I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, ready to wait him out.

"A-about before, at school. . ." He was blushing, "I wanted to, to say sorry. And that I apologized to her"

I smiled, "Thank you! That's all I needed to hear" He seemed surprised at how easily I accepted his apology.

"I really want to be your friend Kyo," I said, "I've always liked the cat from the story, though I never dreamed that I'd actually get to meet him"

Now he was looking at me like I'd grown a second head, "You'll probably think I'm stupid, but I've always felt like I could sort of relate to the cat. Because he was jilted" I tilted my head back to study what I could see of the night sky, "Ever since I met you, I feel like I can relate to you, I remember what its like to be angry at everything"

He was watching me like he wasn't quite sure what to make of me, I held my hand out to shake, "Look, I know you probably don't want anything to do with me. But can we at least call a truce?"

Kyo looked at my hand, "Are you stupid?" He asked

I blinked, suddenly uncertain, "Oh. . . Um, I'm sorry"

"There's nothing to call truce on" He snagged my wrist and started walking, "I was an ass and deserved to get yelled at"

The back of his ears were turning red, I smiled at the back of his head. Once you got past the rough and tumble exterior he really was just shy and uncertain how to react to certain people.


	5. Kyo the Poor Man, and Kagura the Boar

"Autumns here!" Tohru held up a deck of cards, "So. . . lets play Rich man Poor man!"

I was sitting on Kyo's desk, playing with my purple bangs. Yeah, I changed them again. Saki was plying with Tohru's hair and Arisa had been talking to me about how cold it had been getting.

"How does Autumn have anything to do with Rich man Poor man?" asked Kyo

"We always play in the fall" I poked his forehead, "You should play with us?"

"Doesn't have anything to do with me! Go ask that damn Yuki to play!" He turned his face away.

"Aw, but I was asking you." I pouted playfully, "Play with us, please?"

"NO!"

"Never mind" Arisa taunted him, "I was going to say you were stupid and clumsy, I thought I could make some easy money off of you. You're afraid of a little competition, are you sure you're a man?"

A vein popped out on Kyo's head, and the muscle in his jaw was jumping double time. He stood up and rounded on the blonde. Man, I thought only Shigure could get him this irritated, or Yuki. Speaking of which, where did prince charming run off to? I looked around curiously, finding nothing.

"I'll accept your challenge!" Kyo snapped, "No crying if you lose, Uotani!"

"Great!" Arisa smirked, "The one who loses does cleaning duty for the other three!"

"Aah. . . such pleasant electric waves" Saki sighed

I snickered into my hands, "Hey Saki, betcha 500 yen he loses"

"Next time lets invite Yuki too" Tohru looked around, "Where did you run off to Yuki?"

"Don't worry Ru" I patted her head, "He's probably hiding from some fan girls in the boy's bathroom."

It didn't take long for the game of cards to escalate, the whole class was watching us in amusement. It was pretty much a screaming match between Arisa and Kyo. I wasn't playing, it was to much fun watching events unfold. And Arisa was scary when she got into things.

"What kind of dirty tricks do you use? Bastard!" Arisa glared at him from across the table.

I elbowed a couple of girls away from Kyo and peeked at his cards, he had eight eight's, which made a Revolution.

"I'm only following the rule's!" Kyo snarled back at her.

"Hmm" Tohru said, "Revolution makes all strong cards weak"

"Secret Technique. . . Reverse Revolution!" Saki showed us four four's.

I bit my lip to hold back my chuckles, Kyo's reaction made him look like a cat after a bath. Pissed and droopy. Look's like Kyo's cleaning up alone. Nah, I'll probably stay and help him.

"You got suckered Kyo!" one boy laughed

"Great job Hana!" . . . "Yeah, its over!"

"Shut up! Its only just begun!" Kyo shouted

Yuki showed up just as the class emptied out. Only Kyo, Tohru, and I were left. Me with an extra five hundred yen in my wallet. I was leaning against a window while rat-boy spoke to Tohru.

"About Rich man Poor man" Yuki said, "I only know the rules. I've never played before"

"I only learned from Uo not too long ago!" Tohru beamed, "You should join us next time!"

"So. . ." Yuki looked at Kyo's back, "This time he really became the poor man"

I shook my head, he really liked to antagonize poor Kyo doesn't he? Personally I was cheering for Kyo in his next fight.

"Let me help you!" Tohru pleaded, but Kyo was having none of it.

"No! a loss is a loss!" Kyo scowled, "But I will win next time!" he rounded on Yuki, "Of course, I'll win against you too!"

"You always say that, don't you ever get tired of it?" asked Yuki, exasperated.

"Winning against you is my belief! My goal!" Kyo said animatedly, that vein was back.

"You're always bothering me about it. All it is, is troublesome" Yuki said coldly.

Oh boy, this was getting ugly fast. I wrapped a comforting arm around Tohru's shoulders as they began shouting at each other, she was obviously torn between the two. Poor Kyo, this must be so frustrating for him, to have his hopes scoffed at.

"You no good bastard!" Kyo shouted, "I'll knock you down!"

"Kyo. . ." Tohru raised her hands in a placating manner, it did no good.

He went to punch Yuki, and the next thing I know, he's flying through the air. He landed hard on his back on the floor. Tohru and I winced, that was going to leave a bruise in the morning,

"Whenever I see you. . . I just feel so agitated" Yuki left the room with those parting words.

I motioned for Tohru to go after Yuki, "Don't worry" I whispered, "I'll take care of carrot-top"

She cast one last worried look at Kyo before running after Yuki. I crossed my arms and leaned back against the table, that's when I noticed the forming bruise on his chin.

"Oh!" I winced, "You okay Kyo? You're not bleeding are you?"

"I'm not that stupid!" He snapped, "Leave- Leave me alone!"

I should know by now not to take him seriously when he say's stuff like that, but it still hurt a little. He held out his hand, as if to stop me from leaving.

"Ah. . . no. . . I didn't mean it that way" he said.

"Yeah, well" I muttered.

"I'm not very good. . ." He said quietly, "I only get beat up"

"Kyo. . ." I murmured.

"It's nothing, anyway, don't you have work today?" he turned away and gingerly touched his chin.

"Nope!" I said cheerily, "I work tomorrow night! You should really put a cold cloth on that"

I reached into my pack and pulled out a handkerchief to run under the drinking fountain in the hall, when I got back, he was looking at me as if I had grown a second head. I put the damp cloth in his hand and snagged the broom, jumping back when he lunged for it.

"Ah-ah-ah!" I tutted, "I didn't play, so the rules don't apply to me. Hold that to your cheek while I sweep, okay."

I jumped back again when he made another lunge, but this time my foot caught on the broom. I was falling back when Kyo grabbed my waist to steady me, my momentum sent us sprawling, resulting in me on the floor staring at a cat.

"Oh man. . ." I groaned, "I was just trying to make you smile! And now you have every right to be angry-"

"Would you shut up!" he growled

I shut up.

"I'm not angry at you" He sighed, "Lets go home"

I folded his clothes and stuffed them into my bag before picking Kyo up, "This way you don't transform on the way home, okay?"

"Alright" He nodded

Kyo fell asleep while we were walking down the path to home, a light purr rumbling in his chest, he probably doesn't even know he's doing it. Shigure was at the table sipping tea when I walked in, I made a shushing gesture and went upstairs put him on the mat in Shigure's study. Then I changed into some yoga pants and a sweater before joining Shigure.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Oh nothing" I sighed, "I'm just a clumsy idiot"

"Though you may be clumsy, you are certainly no idiot" Shigure sipped his tea, "How did you come to live with Tohru anyway?"

Well that was random, I thought, why would he want to know? But, he was housing me, so I'd tell him anyway.

"One day, while I was still in middle school, my mom got it into her head that she wanted to travel the world" I chuckled without humor, "She was a horrible mom anyway, new boyfriends every week, and she was a perpetual drunk. Tohru found me sleeping in the local park and brought me to her mom. Kyoko didn't want to put me in the system, so she decided I was going to live with her and Tohru. Since Kyoko died I've had to stay strong for Tohru, the poor girl's had it worse than me"

"You both have had it tough" Shigure sympathised.

"Mmm" I stood, "I should get started on my homework, call me down when dinner's ready"

_. . . Short time skip later. . ._

"I hate-hate-hate leek's!" Kyo shouted

I winced at his volume and sighed, "Well, I'm no fan of them either. That's why I'm eating rice ball's, there's some left overs in the rice cooker-"

"Eat it!" Yuki plugged Kyo's nose and shoved a mouthful of leaks into his mouth.

"Oh jeez Yuki, he can't breath like that!" I gasped.

_**DING DONG!**_

"I'll go get the door!" Tohru chirped

I looked after her curiously, "Were you three expecting anyone?"

"No" Yuki said

Kyo snapped out of his leek induced stupor and smacked the chopsticks out of Yuki's hands, "Stop playing! I said I won't eat leek and I mean I won't eat leek!" He shouted.

"If you want to complain you can leave!" said Yuki

"You don't have to say it!" Kyo snapped, "I'll leave!"

"Okay! Okay! Yuki and Kyo. . ." Shigure sighed

"You two sound like a married couple" I snickered, grinning even harder at the death glares they sent me.

Before they could kill me, the door to the dining room slammed open, revealing an adorable little girl. She was staring at Kyo with tears poring down her cheek's.

"KYO!" she cried.

Kyo looked at her as if she were a ghost, his face went paper white and his eyes got huge. He looked terrified.

"Ka-Kagura. . ." He stammered.

"Kyo!" she cried again, "These four month's. . . where did you go? Why didn't you. . . call me?" She sniffed, "I really. . ." Then she went from cute little girl to demonic she-devil in the span of a second. And then she punched Kyo through the door, "I REALLY WANTED TO SEE YOU!"

I gaped through the wall as she swung him around by his ankle like a rag doll, "Will he be alright?" I asked.

"I WAS REALLY WORRIED! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" She shouted.

I was beginning to think it was a really good thing we didn't have neighbors.

"He'll be fine" Yuki assured me, "The paper sliding door need's to be changed again Shigure"

"Why do other people enjoy destroying my home?" sighed Shigure

"I'm. . . Sorry?" Tohru apologized uncertainly.

"Don't worry, that's Kagura. That's how she show's her affection. Just like how little kids pick on those they love"

I would hate to see the results of her anger, "She give's a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Tough love" doesn't she?"

"Her personality seems to have changed" Tohru mused.

"Seriously!" I exclaimed, "She was crying, like, two seconds ago!"

"Whenever she gets excited, she gets like that" Said Yuki, "Especially when Kyo's around. . . plus, she's two years older than us"

"What? Two years older. . . but she's so tiny!" I said.

"And she's a member of the zodiac" Shigure smiled.

"I knew it!" Tohru beamed, "Which one is she?"

"Mmm. . . I thought you would know by just looking at her" He said

I watched her use Kyo's head as a punching bag, hmm. . . deceptively cute, monster strength, excitable. That narrow's it down to boar, sheep, cow, or horse. Kyo made a choking noise as he hit the ground. Kagura seemed to snap out of it and stared, horrified, down at him.

"It can't be. . . WHO DID THIS TO YOU?" She shouted.

I cleared my throat, "Actually, I think it was you"

We got settled at the table after that, I handed Kyo a cold cloth for his face. . . it's been taking a lot of abuse lately. First Yuki, and now this.

"Achoo!" Tohru sneezed delicately.

"Its a little cold in here" I observed.

"Sorry!" apologized Kagura, "I was just so happy when I saw Kyo, all my love pored out at once, "She glanced at Kyo, "Kyo is at fault too, he disappeared for four months and never contacted me. . ."

"Why did I have to call you?" Kyo asked belligerently.

"because we're getting married silly. . ." She said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"When was that decided?" Kyo shouted.

Judging by his reaction this was a big surprise, I smirked, this was the perfect ammo to tease him with.

"You have a fiance?" Tohru gasped, "How wonderful!"

"Yes" I snickered, "When's the wedding? Are we invited?"

"Well that's great, there's finally a girl who likes you" Yuki munched a chip.

"Congratulations" said Shigure.

Kyo glared at us, "Why you bunch of-"

"When we were young you said you wanted to marry me!" Kagura said

"That's because you threatened me!" Kyo shouted.

"Why? When members of the zodiac marry, isn't it beautiful? To be able to understand the pain of being possessed. . . plus" She suddenly hugged a squirming Kyo, "As one of the twelve zodiacs, we won't change when we hug each other," Then she moved to Yuki, "See? It's the same with Yuki!"

"Really? How?" Tohru asked excitedly

"Yes, isn't that convenient" I murmured

"It's not really clear, there are two other girls among us, hugging them doesn't result in from changes either," He grabbed Kagura's arms and untangled her from him while he explained.

"Anyways!" Kagura said, "If one of the zodiac members marries a "normal" person of the opposite sex, usually the marriage doesn't end happily. . . right Shigure?"

"Mmm there may be other problems," he scratched his head, "In this society, it is inconvenient for us to work. The most important thing is that we never hug, or we will change. That's really an annoyance, it makes se-"

I covered Tohru's ears while Yuki quickly shoved the bowl of fruit chips on the table into Shigure's face.

"Dirty!" Yuki snapped

I released a very confused looking Tohru and sat back with a sigh, really, Shigure could be such a pervert sometimes. Ugh. I jumped wen Kagura began speaking again.

"Kyo! Say it clearly now, do you hate me or do you love me?" Kagura stood menacingly over Kyo, "I love you! I love you most in the world! Love you the most in the universe! I want to cook good food for you every day, even if you have an affair, I'll pretend you weren't thinking strait at the moment! I'll forgive you!" Kagura said all of this on one breath, which left her panting heavily.

Wow, she's more forgiving than I am. I've only had one boyfriend, and he ended up cheating on me. The boy was walking around with a limp for days after.

"But Amanda and Tohru like Kyo too right?" Shigure asked innocently.

"Yup, that's us! Year of the cat fan club!" Tohru said laughingly

I laughed nervously, was Shigure trying to get us killed? Damned dog. Tohru wasn't helping either, maybe I should begin writing my will. . . all that I own shall go to Goodwill. Wow, that was easy. Suddenly Kagura was leaning over us, an evil glint in her eye.

"But I won't lose! The power of my love is capable of overcoming any obstacles! Tohru, Amanda, what do you like about Kyo? I love all of him! ALL of him! Doesn't matter if its good or bad, I accept all of it! Even when Kyo transforms into his true form! I can accept that too-"

Kyo's hand was over her mouth in a second, "Stop! Any more of this talk. . . and I won't forgive you!"

Kagura flipped him over onto his stomach and bent his arms behind him with a foot planted in the small of his back, "How could you not forgive me! SAY IT!"

What does she mean about his true form? Is she talking about his cat form? I winced slightly at the sound of his shoulders popping, ouch. Any more of this and his shirt was going to rip. . . shirt. What was I forgetting?

The laundry!

"Tohru!" I stood quickly, "We almost forgot the laundry!"

She stood up with me and we hurried to the washer room.

"Its too bad we didn't get to hear which zodiac form Kagura is" Tohru sighed

I pulled Kyo's dirty laundry basket to me and pulled out one of his black shirts, "I've almost got it. I'm torn between the Ram and the Boar

"That's not Kyo's shirt is it?"

I jumped at Kagura's unexpected appearance and clutched the shirt tighter in fright. Crap. I was so dead.

"Maybe. . . I won't get hurt if it is right?" I asked cautiously.

"I can do it! If that's okay, it is right? Right!" She asked

Like I was going to say no.

"Sure, just be careful" I said

She zoomed out of the room, not two seconds later I could hear Kyo screaming. I turned to Tohru and whispered, "Why don't you take Yuki and go shopping? I don't know how crazy things are going to get around here"

"Are you sure?" She whispered back

I nodded and pushed her out of the room, then after a second of thought grabbed a shirt from Kyo's basket and stuffed it under my shirt just as Kagura came back in. She was holding the shirt Kyo had been wearing. While she was distracted I snuck out of the room and began my search for Kyo, he was running around half naked. The thought of that sent a blush along my cheek bones.

"Kyo!" I whisper shouted, "Here kitty, kitty!"

"That's not funny" His sullen voice came from the branches of a nearby tree.

"Sure it is" I waved his shirt above my head where he could see it, "Get down here, you'll catch a cold if you run around like that"

He jumped down and snagged the shirt from me, "Thanks. Hey, you okay?" He peered at me, "Your face is kinda red"

It was red because he was one fit male. Hey, I'm a sixteen year old heterosexual girl! He's just lucky that I don't have a nose bleed right now. This was totally a nose bleed moment.

"Ah! Yeah I'm fine!" I turned and began walking quickly back to the house, "C'mon! I want to make sure Kagura's doing okay with your laundry!"

And use some detergent to wash the sight of you shirtless form my mind. Bad Mandy!

"You let her do my laundry?" he shouted, horrified.

"You think I'm going to say no to her?" I snorted, "Yeah right, she'd turn me into an Amanda pancake with her bare hands!"

As it turns out, I should have said no. Just as we were walking back inside Kagura ripped his favorite blue shirt in half.

"Tell me you didn't just do what I think you did!" Kyo shouted

"My love. . ." Kagura smiled adorably

"My shirt!"

I sighed and tried to calm him down. It was unsuccessful and their bickering had attracted Shigure into the room.

Just as he walked into the hall Kyo, Kagura, and I were swamped with a mass of pink bubbles.

"How much detergent did you use?" Shigure asked

"All of it!"

Shigure sniffed the air, "Is something. . . burning?"

"The tea!" Kagura shrieked.

She bolted into the kitchen and screamed. I ran into the room and let out a little scream of my own, it was on fire! I grabbed a dish towel and began beating at the flames, Kyo used the tattered remains of his shirt to do the same.

"Look out!" Shigure called, then sprayed the whole room with the fire extinguisher, including us.

"Don't we look lovely" Shigure chuckled.

I blocked out the bickering and cleared my throat, "I am going to take a shower. I will help clean up when I am done"

I needed some me time before I went nuts.


	6. Kitchen Cleanup and Goodbye Kisses

"Ouch!" I hissed, waving my hand threw the air.

In the process of trying to beat out the fire in the kitchen my wrist had ended up getting a little singed. I blew on it a couple of times before reaching into my half of the closet and pulled out a purple sweater dress and black leggings. It matched my bang's nicely.

I tied my still damp hair up in a ponytail and headed down stairs. Tohru and Yuki were standing with Shigure in the doorway to the kitchen

"You're back? Was I upstairs that long?" I hugged Tohru in hello.

"No!" Shigure said happily, "I was just explaining the, er, kitchen fiasco to Yuki and Tohru"

I peeked around Yuki at Kagura, "Why is she cleaning by herself?"

Tohru stepped into the kitchen, "Um, I'll help you clean up"

"Me too" I reached for a cleaning cloth.

"I can do it" Kagura said quietly

"But its too much work for you to do by yourself" Tohru protested

"No please! Let me do it, I want to! It's my fault the kitchens like this!" Kagura insisted

"At least she's being consistent" Shigure sighed , "She wouldn't let me help either

"Really, it's okay, I can do it myself" Kagura said

"I guess if you want to" I said reluctantly, I felt bad for letting her clean by herself.

We converged to the living room and sat around the table. I frowned and peered at the ceiling, Kyo was probably lurking in Shigure's study.

"Is it okay if we leave her in there?" Tohru asked

"Don't worry" Yuki assured her, "Kagura's always been the resilient type. I'm sure she just needs some time to herself"

"She probably wouldn't accept our help anyway Tohru, you saw how stubborn she was" I commented.

Shigure sighed pitifully, "Of course, the real crisis here is that we won't be able to cook dinner while the kitchen is wrecked. I guess we'll just have to grit our teeth and call for takeout" he sighed again, "And I was so looking forward to one of Tohru and Amanda's wonderful home cooked meals"

"So" Yuki curled his lip, "Where did the other home wrecker go?'

"I was wondering where Kyo had gotten to as well, I tilted my head curiously at Shigure, "Do you know?"

"Ah-he-he" He pointed up, "He's still sulking I think. It would probably be a good idea to leave him alone for a while"

I bit my lip and sighed quietly, poor guy. He was shy, and Kagura was so. . . not. She really pissed him off before. Though he really didn't seem so ticked until Kagura said something about his "True Form". Why wouldn't I accept his other form? Hell, I've carried him home as a cat. He really was rather cute as a cat. I shrugged and stood to order our dinner.

_. . . short time skip later. . ._

"I'm gonna burst. Ahh, full, full, full!" Shigure leaned back on his hands, away from his empty take out box.

"You Miss Honda? Miss Cho?" Yuki asked politely**.**

"If I ate any more, you'd have to roll me up the stairs" I said contentedly and patted my belly.

"I couldn't eat another bite" Tohru agreed, "Oh but Kagura and Kyo. . . we shouldn't let their dinner get cold"

"Kyo is still on the roof, and Kagura's in the kitchen" I placed my chopsticks on the table, "They are both way too stubborn for their own good"

"Huh, so let's see" Shigure began rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Am I brave enough to go looking for Kyo just yet? No, but I think I can chance the kitchen"

Hmm, poor Kyo will probably end up staying on the roof all night. "Tohru" I said, "Why don't you get in the bath, I've taken mine for the night"

Tohru went upstairs while Shigure braved the kitchen and Kagura. I stood and reached for Yuki's bento, unfortunately, that made my sleeve ride up. The burn on my wrist peeked out, but before I could pull my arm back Yuki wrapped his hand around the spot above the pink mark.

"What's this? Miss Cho!" Yuki frowned at me sternly, "How did you get burned? Was it that stupid cat?" His eyes narrowed dangerously, "He-"

"It wasn't Kyo!" I snapped, "Jeez Yuki, I got singed when I was trying to beat out the flames in the kitchen. It was entirely my fault."

When he stood up silently and left the room I felt bad, really, I shouldn't have snapped. But sometimes things just spew out. Note to self; install mouth filter later. I groaned loudly and sat back down, and for good measure, let my head bang down on the table. Really smart, Mandy, piss off your landlord. Well, landlords cousin, but still. I had lifted my head to do it again when I saw Yuki standing in the doorway.

"Hahaha-haha-ha. . .ha. Heeyy Yuki" laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of my neck.

He merely shook his head and sat next to me, he placed a square box with a red cross on the table. A first aid kit? He was going to help me bandage my wrist, even after I yelled at him?

I sighed in relief when Yuki spread the burn gel over the pink patch on my skin, "Sorry about snapping at you Yuki. I just don't understand the animosity between the two of you"

He smoothed a bandage over the gel and smiled kindly, "It's okay Miss Cho, though I don't think hitting your head against the table is necessarily a good idea. I think that stupid cat did enough damage when he first arrived"

What is he. . . oh, when Kyo punched the table in half, and when said half of table smacked me in the face! I scrunched my face up and stuck my tongue out at him. Then I tilted my head curiously.

"Seriously though, what's up with you two?" I rested my elbow on the table and rested my chin on my hand, "Well?"

Yuki was quiet for so long I thought he wasn't going to answer, then he stood and looked down at me. "I am the rat, and he is the cat. That, Miss Cho, is all there is to it." then gone.

"All there is to it my aching derriere"I muttered, "Drama queen"

My mutters were punctuated by Kagura's laughter and Shigure's whimpers of pain. I sighed and dragged myself upstairs to change into my pajamas.

~LINE BREAK~

"Mandy" Tohru's voice whispered from her bed, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah" I rolled over and tucked my hand under my cheek, "You can't sleep either?"

"No" She said, "I keep thinking of Kagura downstairs all alone and Kyo up on the roof. Do you think they've eaten yet?"

I sat up and threw back my covers, "Why don't we go check on them"

When we went downstairs I was amazed at how clean the kitchen was, Kagura must have been working hard.

"It looks so clean" Tohru echoed my thoughts, "Oh, Kagura and Kyo still haven't eaten their dinners, they must be starving"

I peeked into the living room and saw Kagura still working on the door, her stomach grumbled loudly. I stifled a giggle, she paused and looked at the broken door in dismay.

"This is going to take all night, I know it" She mumbled

I ducked back into the kitchen, "Hey Ru, why don't you make Kagura some rice balls? I'll make some for Kyo and we'll make sure they both get fed"

We took their bento's and made rice balls out of the leftovers, she took hers to Kagura while I risked the ladder up to the roof one handed. Kyo wasn't even paying attention, he was pouting with his back to me. I smirked and set the rice balls on the roof quietly before popping my head up.

"Boo!"

He let out a strangled yelp and half turned to glare at me, "Dammit! I thought you were Kagura!"

I laughed and climbed all the way up onto the roof, "Consider that payback for always sneaking up on me. What are you doing up here?"

"Kagura's still down there isn't she?" He grumbled, "What are __you __doing up?"

"I'm up because I couldn't sleep. Tohru too," I scooted the snacks over to him, "We came downstairs and saw you and Kagura were still awake. She is currently helping Kagura fix the door she broke with your head. And quite frankly, Kagura scares me, so I brought you food. Its not healthy to skip meals"

He scowled at me, I just smiled cheekily back. "Do you really think of staying up here all night? I think that's a bit much don't you?"

"No! She's crazy!" He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, "She's like this every time she sees me. I mean. . . what's with her? Its so damn annoying"

"Actually, I kind of admire her." I crossed my legs and fiddled with my fingers,"I mean, to be able to love someone to that extent, it's really amazing. Every girl dreams of the day she'll get married" I peered at him through my bangs, he was looking at me like I was crazy.

"Eat up," I nudged the rice balls closer to him, "or they'll get stale. I put salmon in them. . ."

While he ate I stared at the sky, he really was quite lucky to have someone love him like Kagura does. It was her dream someday to marry him.

"Kyo" I said, "You have a dream right? I hope to become a vet someday. Yours is to beat Yuki in a fight, isn't it? Isn't that why you were training in the mountains for four months?"

"Shigure told you that?" he popped a piece of rice into his mouth, "Yeah, that's right"

"I don't know how you did it. I would have gone crazy, being all by myself. . ."

"But I wasn't alone." Kyo said, "I was with my master."

"A master?" I smiled as the image of an old man came to mind, like Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid. "I bet he's strong. Did ever have you wax his car? Wax on, wax off" I mimed clockwise and counterclockwise hand motions.

"You bet he's strong! He could flatten that sissy-rat boy in one punch!" He surged to his feet, "My master's as strong as they come, he's a Sohma, but he never treated me like the others do. He's been teaching me how to fight ever since I was a little kid, sure, he put me through hell up on there on the mountain. But those were some of the best days of my life, it's like, every day was an adventure, you know? I'd wake up every day and wonder, 'What's he going to teach me? How much stronger will I get today?' it was great! Awe listen to me, just talking about it gets me pumped up!" He paused and looked at me, if he'd had cat ears and a tail, they would be drooping, Kyo sunk back down into a sitting position. "This must be pretty stupid to someone like you, huh?"

The whole time he'd been talking I had been listening intently. Kyo had been animated and smiling. He'd been __happy__. I shook my head frantically, looking for someway to keep him up beat like he had been.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, "It sounds amazing! I know a little. . . ha!" I turned and punched him in the arm.

He laughed, "That was better than I expected, but you still suck"

I stuck my tongue out at him, "Phht! Mr. I'm-going-to-fight-bears-in-the-mountains! Show me!" I challenged him.

"Hey, I never fought bears! You should stop listening to Shigure." He laughed again and held out his hands, "here, this is how you hold your arms. . ."

I smiled and copied his movements as he explained how to punch someone without breaking your hand. The way he talked, I could tell martial arts was his passion. His scarlet eyes lit up, and he got this awkward little smile on his face. I'd have to check out some books and read up on it some more, that way I could talk to him like this again.

Tohru was in bed when I went back to our room, all snuggled up in her pale yellow comforter. I yawned tiredly and crawled into my own bed. Today had been a very, very eventful day, and I needed to get some sleep.

Who knows what tomorrow would bring?

. . . _Next morning_. . .

"Kyo! Darling, goodbye my love, take care of yourself until I come back!"

"Tell ya what! You don't come back and I'll be just fine! Ahhh!"

I groaned and rested my forehead on Tohru's shoulder, "Too loud, make it stop!"

"It's good to see everyone back to normal" Tohru said happily

I love Tohru, but there is only one thing worse than morning's. Morning people. My only source of entertainment this morning was watching Kyo squirm under Kagura's embrace as he tried to brush his teeth.

"Did you ever figure out what animal Kagura is?" Shigure asked Tohru

Kagura had to be the boar. She was stubborn as hell and deceptively cute, the girls could go from adorable angel to raging she devil in a nanosecond.

"No, not yet-"

"KYO! BE NICE OR I'M NOT GONNA KISS YOU GOODBYE!"

"Who needs it?"

"That's it! Kyo, you jerk, I'm leaving you love!" Kagura screamed and broke threw the doors in her haste to leave, just as the paperboy was coming up the stairs.

"Crap" I said

"Hello, it is I, your ever reliable paper boy! Come to deliver the news today!"

I covered my eyes to avoid seeing the impending disaster. Everyone cried out when Kagura collided with the paperboy, including me, since I was peeking a bit.

"This isn't good" Shigure said

There was a poof of smoke, and then Yuki swooped in to cover his eyes while hurrying him away.

"Ah yes, thank you for your hard work!" Yuki said politely

"No problem, sure, it's my job. Sorry I was a little late today. Bye!" He went flying back down the path.

I uncovered my face, though it really didn't make a difference, as I had been peeking through my fingers the whole time.

"Smooth Yuki. Very smooth" I complimented the rat.

"Hey! I've figured out Kagura's zodiac animal! She's the boar!" Tohru said this with a serious face as she picked up the little pig-Kagura.

"I don't think that counts Ru" But I smiled anyway, "But good effort"

"Kagura" I tilted my head at the little pig, "I can understand how why you like Kyo so much. The more I get to know him, the more that I see the qualities that you love so mu-" I stopped myself a second too late, again with the mouth spew!

Kagura jumped out of Tohru's arms and began beating the snot out of Kyo, "Kyo you two timer!"

"I thought she would forgive a little fling" Shigure said.

"What fling?" I asked in exasperation, "That's not what I said!"

"I will! Right after I kill him!" Kagura shrieked.

"Hey! What the hell did I do?" Kyo howled

"Wait! Wait! Kagura stop!" I held my hands up palms facing her, "I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. I was trying to say that I admire your capacity for love. I hope that I can find somebody to love like that one day. . . though maybe not so hard" I laughed lightly

"Y-you admire me?"Kagura asked quietly.

"Mhm" I nodded, "And even though you and I haven't exactly talked, I hope that we can be friends someday. But go easy on me, I'm not as sturdy as you guys!"

Kagura transformed, hiding naked on Kyo's back, and giggled. "I don't know what to say!"

"Put on some clothes!" Kyo growled.

She put on her clothes with all of us turned away and walked with us to the main road.

"Okay! Bye bye! Oh, and I'll bring you another shirt next time I come over Kyo! Love you!" Kagura waved goodbye to us as she walked away.

I nudged Kyo with my elbow, "You think she'll remember she forgot to give you a goodbye kiss?"

"Gah! Don't you even start!" He began storming away, "C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

"Ah well" Yuki ran a hand through his hair, "With all this commotion, I didn't get to do any gardening"

"That's right! Your secret base, those leek's were delicious. What are you planting next?" Tohru asked.

"I was thinking of planting some strawberries" Yuki said looking at her softly.

"I love strawberries!" Tohru said happily.

"Hmm, I thought you might." Yuki smiled a small genuine smile, "That's why I'm planting them."

"Thanks!" Tohru chirped

I could feel a sly smile form at my lips, oh these two were adorable. I would definitely have to do something about that later. when I had the time to scheme.

That's when we heard the sound of pounding feet, "Kyo! Stop right there! I almost forgot to give you a goodbye kiss!"

I bit my lips to keep from laughing at Kyo's howl of dismay, but just watching him try to pry Kagura away from him set me off. I bent over and clutched my stomach as I laughed.

I can __never __say that like with the Sohma's was boring.


	7. What are friends for?

"Hey Tohru, which book should I get? Beginners Guide to Martial Arts, or How to Kung Fu?"

Tohru and I were in the library searching for books, it was study hall and we were taking a break. I was looking through books on martial arts while she was deciding on the right gardening manual.

****"****Um, Beginners Guide to Martial Arts" Tohru pointed at the thicker book.

I put the other book back on the shelf, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. The other one was way too cheesy sounding." not to mention Kyo would laugh himself silly if he caught me reading it.

As we were checking out our books a teacher's aid poked his head into the library, "Tohru Honda? You have a phone call"

I frowned and followed Tohru into the back room. Who would be calling Tohru as school? More importantly, why would anyone be calling Tohru at school? The last time there was a phone call for her at school, it ended up being about Kyoko.

She picked up the phone, "Hello?" Her brown eyes went wide, "Grand. . . Grandpa. . ."

My stomach sank. Oh-no, Grandpa Honda. There was only one reason he would be calling Tohru at school, the renovations are done. I chewed on my lip until she hung up.

****"****To-Tohru?" I asked hesitantly.

****"****The renovations are done" Tohru began wringing her hands together, "Grandpa says I can move back in, but I have to share a room with my cousin. Mandy I-"

I shushed her and pulled her in for a hug, "It's okay sweety. I'll figure something out."

The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out how to ask Shigure if I could stay with them, quite honestly, I don't think I could leave them. Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure had become a sort of family to me. And I was just getting to know Kyo too. . .

When we got home Tohru and I went upstairs to change before asking Shigure to speak to us in the living room. I just walked past her to sit on the porch, Kyo was working out back there. It wasn't much of a distraction though, no matter how cute he was, because I could hear every word that passed through Tohru and Shigure's lips.

****"****I just found out the renovations are done"

Shigure made a small sound of surprise and Kyo's head snapped to me, looking for. . . something. I just shrugged and pulled my knees to my chest, I had changed into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.

****"****I, uh, I got a phone call from my grandfather up at the school. He told me." Tohru said.

There was the sound of newspaper rustling and then Shigure spoke, "Ah, I see. And if memory serves, you were planning to move back into the house once the work was done. Is that right?"

****"****What renovations?" Kyo stood with his fists planted on his hips, staring into the room.

I had forgotten that we didn't tell him about that. He'd just popped through the roof and threatened Yuki, and then he was living with us. To be perfectly honest, I'd forgotten about the whole deal entirely.

****"****Oh, I guess we never told you Kyo" Shigure sounded sheepish.

****"****So what? Tell me now!"

****"****Well you see. . ." Tohru began explaining her situation, "After mom died we went to stay with my Grandfather on my father's side, but then we found out that my aunt and her husband were gonna move in the house with us and Grandpa decided it would be a good idea to have some remodeling done. You know, to make more room for everyone, so he went away to stay with my aunt while the work was going on and we stayed here so we wouldn't miss school. Well, we didn't stay here, here, not at first I mean. We were living in a tent for awhile. But anyway, now they've finished with all the construction it look's like I can go back and-"

"Okay! Enough already!" Kyo snapped before looking away, "I get it"

****"****I-I'm sorry" Tohru stammered, "I just thought that. . ."

I blew my bangs out of my face with a sigh, man, this was just one big mess. Poor Kyo didn't expect this, and with his temper, it's no surprise that he blew a cap.

****"****Don't mind him, I think we caught him a little off guard with the news is all. We just witnessed a classic example of what I like to call misdirected rage. I believe the technical term is 'being an ass'" Shigure said amiably.

I resisted the urge to get up and whack him across the back of the head. What is it with him and antagonizing Kyo all the damn time?

****"****You are so full of it!" Kyo shouted angrily.

****"****I guess I can understand" Shigure ignored him, "This does seem sudden"

****"****I suppose I should go ahead and get my things packed while I still have the rest of the day" Tohru murmured, "I'll try to be out of your way by this evening"

As the two spoke I watched as Kyo grew tenser and tenser. I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. He saw me watching him and turned around, visibly forcing himself to relax. I smiled slightly and leaned my forehead against my knees.

****"****Hm, a thousand perfectly lovely things you could have said, yet what poetry spews from your mouth? Anytime. Really Yuki, that might just be the most unsentimental thing I've ever heard, or at the very least insensitive. . ."

I was vaguely aware of Shigure scolding Yuki in the background for something, and Kyo sat next to me on the porch, one knee bent to his chest while the other leg was stretched out.

****"****Are you going too?" He asked bluntly

I peeked at him through my bangs, "Not to Grandpa Honda's, no. There isn't any room. Tohru already has to share a room with her she-bitch cousin, and the last time I saw them I kicked her uncle's son in the groin for trying to get handsy"

Kyo choked and Shigure let out a bark of laughter, I smiled wryly. "So you can imagine, I'm not exactly welcome in the same house as them.

"Then you're staying here?" Kyo asked, shoulders tensed for my answer.

I shrugged, "Kyo, I don't exactly have anywhere to go. My mom is MIA and I was just living in a tent not too long ago. So, if you'll have me, I will stay."

A hand landed on my head, messing up my blonde locks. I looked up to see Shigure standing over the two of us, "Of course you can stay Amanda, it would be horrible to lose both our princesses!"

I swatted his hand away and used Kyo's shoulder to stand up, "You always manage to say the strangest things Shigure, but thank you, for everything."

Saying goodbye was horrible. I mean, I know Tohru and I would see each other on Monday, but it wouldn't be the same as sleeping in the same room together. Or being able to share dinner, or simply saying good morning to each other. I threw my arms around her before she left and squeezed her tight.

****"****Tohru, I want you to tell me if that nasty cousin of yours does anything. Okay? Bye"

She squeezed me back before turning to Yuki and Shigure and bowing deeply, "Thank you for allowing me to live here"

She spared a sad glance at the roof before turning around and walking away.

Once she was out of sight I hugged myself and sighed, "I'm going to bed. I'll see you at breakfast"

I lazed in bed for a while, staring at Tohru's old bed and her pale yellow comforter, before rolling over onto my stomach and letting the tears flow. It was okay to cry when nobody could see it.

~LINE BREAK~

When I woke up the first thing I saw was Tohru's empty bed, it wasn't like I forgot or anything, but the sight was still like a slap to the face. I swallowed the lump in my throat and got up, mentally scolding myself. C'mon Mandy, get up and suck it up. The boys are probably feeling her absence just as bad as you are.

I dressed myself in a simple pair of boot-cut jeans and a purple v-neck t-shirt before pulling my hair up into a clip. Once I was presentable and all traces of redness from my nighttime cry were gone I walked downstairs to the kitchen. Yuki and Kyo were already there. They paused in their search for food and eyed me like I was going to burst into a snotty sobbing mess.

****"****Guy's, I'm fine." I pasted a bright smile on my face for them, "Let's see what we can cook up for breakfast this morning shall we?"

They nodded before going back to their search for food. Kyo was examining the nearly empty fridge while Yuki poked at the rice maker. I shook my head and began searching the pantry. The quiet was broken by the resident dog. Of course.

****"****Tohru! I'm starving, what's for breakfast?" Shigure froze as we all glared death at him, "I forgot, our dear sweet Tohru has gone, gone away"

****"****That sounded like you forgot on purpose" Yuki said with quiet menace.

Shigure laughed it off, "No! Of course not, that would be pretty despicable of me, don't you think? But you know, without Tohru here, it does feel like all the fire had gone right out of this kitchen. Suddenly it feels so cold and dreary"

****"****Dammit! You are saying that on purpose, aren't you?" Kyo lunged at Shigure, fist's swinging.

****"****You wanna know what's despicable?" I crossed my arms over my stomach, "A middle aged man calling a sixteen year old girl his dear sweet anything. And what am I? Chopped liver?"

****"****You wound me Amanda!" Shigure cried, one hand placed on Kyo's forehead to keep him out of striking distance. "I am not middle aged. I am twenty-six!"

****"****Was that seriously all you got out of what I just said?" I could feel a twitch starting in my right eye.

****"****In any event, consumed by grief though we are, I suppose we can't help but get hungry at some point. Which reminds me, Tohru left us a pot of her delicious beef stew in the refrigerator. Yes?" Shigure totally ignored my previous statement.

Yuki pulled it out of the fridge, holding it awkwardly in his hands. I abandoned my search of the pantry and moved to stand by Kyo.

****"****Perfect, now why don't you heat that up for us Yuki?" Shigure smiled happily.

****"****You're joking right?" Yuki deadpanned

****"****of course, you're not too handy in the food department are you?" Shigure turned to Kyo, "Kyo, I guess that leaves you"

****"****Why do I gotta do it?" Kyo snapped and jabbed a finger at me, "Why not her?"

****"****Dude, I bake, not cook" I raised an eyebrow at him, "You'd have better luck getting Yuki to do it"

****"****What's the difference?"

****"****Boy, I will bite that finger if you do not get it out of my face" I glared at the offending digit, sniffing when Kyo quickly retracted it.

Did I mention that I wasn't a morning person?

****"****No, no, it alright! If you don't mind letting the last of the wonderful beef stew that Tohru put her heart and soul into preparing for us get burned to a crisp, then neither do I. After all, I suppose burnt beef stew will be just as satisfying as burnt miso soup, or burnt rice, or burnt eggs, or any of the fine burnt dishes Yuki used to make for us before Tohru fell into our lives. Ah yes, we all seemed to do quite well on our charcoal rich diet and I'm sure that we will become accustomed to it again"

During Shigure's theatrical ranting, Kyo had taken the stew pot from Yuki and set it to warm on the stove, while I got the bowls out of the cupboards. Sometimes, I wonder what could be going through that man's head. It seemed like he was riling the boys up on purpose. Was he trying to get his head pounded into the ground?

Once we sat down to eat Yuki immediately set into Kyo, "I'd have to give your presentation a zero"

****"****Fine, then do it yourself next time!"

Shigure held his hands up in the praying position, "We thank you for this food Tohru, wherever you are"

We all clapped our hands together and began eating, I took my first sip and closed my eyes. Tohru always was the best cook.

****"****Ahh, I'm in heaven" Shigure sighed happily, "And to think, two bright handsome young men like yourselves couldn't even find a way to keep the girl who cooked this delicious stew from leaving. Oh, the tragedy!"

****"****If she could go back to her grandfather's house, then there is no reason for her to stay here is there?" Yuki said coolly.

I clenched my hand around my spoon. He's only saying that because he misses her, I think. But, then again, boy's handle these things differently than girls do. Right?

****"****I'm afraid only our sorrow will tell us as the long lonely hours without her pass us , and our only solace will be the few scattered traces of Tohru's presence left about the house. Like this cute little strawberry towel for instance, I found it still hanging in the shower. I have but to press it against my face and the sweet scent of Tohru reminds me of happier days"

The three of us surged forward, each landing a punch to Shigure's head. I snatched the towel away from him and started for the stairs, hearing Kyo's screams of rage behind me.

****"****YOU SICK BASTARD!"

I placed it on the towel rack before grabbing my purse, I needed to get out of the house before I neutered a certain dog.

****"****Miss Cho, are you going shopping?" Yuki appeared next to me at the door, making me jump.

****"****Y'know, that must be a Sohma thing or something" I slipped my coat on. Yuki tilted his head to the left in curiosity, so I elaborated. "Sneaking up on people, none of you make any noise when you move. Except for Kagura, but I think that reason is obvious. And to answer your question, Yuki, yes I am going to the store, You wanna come?"

****"****Of course, Miss Cho." Yuki slipped on his shoes, "I guess I've never noticed it before,the whole silent moving thing, but it could be because most of us were trained at an early age in martial arts"

I realized that I didn't know very much about Yuki at all, so I used that as a conversation opener. I only asked about impersonal things, but he wasn't really there for the walk to the store. The walk back was even quieter, so I addressed the topic I knew we were both thinking of.

****"****Yeah, I'm going to miss her too"

Yuki looked at me startled, his purple eyes growing wide. I smiled sadly at him, "You were thinking of Tohru, right?"

****"****I-I suppose so, Miss Cho" Wow, I've actually caught Prince Yuki off guard.

I carefully bumped my elbow into his, "You can talk to me if something is bothering you. You know that, right? I mean, you'd probably rather Tohru, but I'm here if you need a willing ear."

Yuki blinked owlishly before a small genuine smile curved at his lips, "Thank you Miss Cho, I'll keep that in mind"

I grinned back at him, "Be sure that you do, I may not be Tohru, but I can sure try. What else are friends for?"

Now to get through the rest of the weekend without killing Shigure, maybe I'll ask Kyo to teach me martial arts to keep me busy. Anything to get away from the drama that is Shigure Sohma.


	8. Eternal Friendship

Saturday and Sunday were boring. Yuki went off to sulk at his secret base and Kyo quarantined himself to the roof. That meant I was stuck dealing with Shigure. All. Day. Long. By the end of it I was at my wits end. I'm pretty sure Yuki could feel the waves of irritation when he came back from his garden. Anyway, Saturday came and went, and Sunday was basically the same thing. I ended up in my room reading manga and listening to music to stop myself from hurting Shigure.

I was grateful when Monday rolled in. That meant school and school meant Tohru.

"Tohru!" I squealed when I saw her in the hallway and threw my arms around her in a bear hug.

"M-Mandy!" she was understandably caught off guard, "It's good to see you!"

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and glared at the students that had stopped to watch us, "What are you lookin at? Keep walkin!"I lead her over to one of the benches in the hallway and sat next to her, "What's up Tohru - hey what's wrong?"

She looked fit to cry, so I wrapped her up in a hug. "C'mon Ru, tell me what's up"

"I saw Yuki and Kyo today" She sniffed, "And it was like we never once lived together"

I rested my head on top of hers, "Let me tell ya something, they spent all of Saturday and Sunday sulking. Yuki spent it at his garden and Kyo banished himself to the roof. That left me alone with Shigure and his nonsense. He's lucky I didn't break something over his head."

She giggled, "I was also kinda scared that it would be the same for us"

"Aw Tohru, of course not!" I tugged on a lock of her brown hair, "You and Kyoko took me in. You're the sister I've always wanted. Remember our promise? We're going to become old batty ladies together!"

I studied her face for a second, that wasn't all that was bothering her.

I sighed and leaned back, "Alright Ru, spill, is it your aunt and uncle? What's bothering you?"

She fidgeted on the bench with her head bowed, "I really shouldn't complain, after all I have a home and a roof"

I rolled my eyes, "Okay, we are going to put kind, considerate, polite Tohru Honda on the back burner. Then we are going to pull out the itty bitty part of you that's just screaming complaints. Kay?" I poked her forehead, "Speak to me!"

Tohru frowned slightly, "I guess I miss being at Shigure's, and its strange not knowing where everything is"

I nodded encouragingly, "Okay, and how does that make you feel?"

"It makes me feel sad, and a little mad"

I patted her head, "It's okay to feel those things Tohru, it doesn't make you a bad person. Now, we should probably get to class"

Tohru sprung up and looked frantically around the hall, "Ahh! I'm late! I'm late!"She pounced on me in a hug and said quickly, "Thanks Mandy! Love you!"

I giggled as she ran down the hall, man I loved that girl. I stood from the bench and stretched, I should be a school counselor.

~LINE BREAK~

After school was work. Usually, I enjoyed it. But right now all I wanted was to be home with Tohru and the boys cooking dinner.

"Mandy! I'm baaack!"

I grinned at the hyper voice that filled the room, our favorite customer, Momiji. Standing at the counter was a cute little boy with hair as blonde as mine, he was dressed in shorts and a baby blue shirt.

"Hey Miji! What can I get you today?" I leaned against the counter to grin at the short boy.

He beamed back, "The usual please! How are you Mandy?"

I rolled my eyes and pulled out a small strawberry cake, "I'm great Miji" Lies!, "What have you been up to? It's lonely around here without you!"

"I was sick! Hari had to take care of me until I was better!" He took the cake and bounced on his heels, "Thanks for the cake Manda Panda! Bye-bye!"

I sighed as the little blonde blur sped out of the restaurant, Momiji was really the only part of my job that I looked forward to. But damn, that boy was going to get a cavity if he wasn't careful with all the sweets he ate.

Work dragged on until it was my turn to clock off at nine, and then I heard my co-workers whispering to themselves.

"Oh! He's a handsome one!"

"Such orange hair!"

I grinned and pulled off my apron before running outside. Sure enough, standing there was Kyo. I walked up to him and smiled warmly, "How long have you been out here?"

"Not long" His scarlet eyes narrowed at me, "Why aren't you wearing a coat?"

I flushed in embarrassment, "Er, I didn't think about it?"

"Tch" Kyo clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "If you don't think about these things you'll end up catching a cold"

I wanted to defend myself, but he was right. I had been distracted and I totally spaced about putting on a coat. I blew my purple bangs out of my face with a sigh, "Sorry, it won't happen again"

He was quiet as we walked, I was wondering if I had made him mad when something warm was draped over my head. I'm pretty sure I let out a girly squeal before I pulled it off my head. It was Kyo's jacket, I glanced at him.

"Are you sure? Its pretty cold. . ."

"Just put the damn thing on, would ya!"

It was warm, and smelled like Kyo. A mixture of something spicy and minty. The rest of the walk home was done in silence, Kyo had to grab my hand to keep me from tripping through the dark path to the house. I'm pretty sure we were both blushing at first. But he let go as soon as our feet touched the porch.

"I'm home!" I called as I pulled off my shoes. As if summoned, Shigure popped his head out of the staircase.

"Welcome home!" then he noticed I was wearing Kyo's sweater, "Is that Kyo's jacket? What were you- Ouch!"

I giggled when Kyo popped him on the head as he walked up the stairs, he pouted a second before grinning at me.

"There's a present in your room for you!" He sang, "~Go check it out~"

I eyed him warily as I passed him on the stairs, I really wouldn't put it past the dog to do something weird. But what I found in my room totally caught me off guard. Tohru was sitting on her bed, combing her hair.

She saw me and beamed, "Mandy!"

I blinked a couple of times before shrieking her name and tackling her onto the bed. She let out a yelp of surprise before hugging me back. I smiled into her brown hair.

"What are you doing here? Not that I'm not ecstatic or anything, but how?" I asked, my words muffled by her hair.

"Yuki and Kyo came and got me" Tohru whispered, "I was talking to Grandpa about wanting to come back and they just appeared!"

"The Prince's rescued the Princess!" Shigure said dramatically from the doorway.

"You make it sound dirty" Yuki's cool voice came from behind him.

"Damned dog" I heard Kyo mutter.

I stood and grinned at Shigure, "This was your plan all along wasn't it Shigure?"

He pretended to not know what I was talking about, "You overestimate me Amanda!"

"Either way, I'm giving you fair warning" I warned with a grin.

They all tilted their head curiously.

"GROUP HUG!"

I tackled them all to the ground in a hug, ending up with an armful of fuzzy animals. I heard Tohru's giggling over Kyo's cursing and Yuki's sighs. Shigure just wiggled until he could lick my face.

"HOW THE HELL WAS THAT FAIR WARNING!"

~LINE BREAK~

After everything was said and done, we were staying with the Sohma's. Which meant we had to clean out Shigure's den so that Kyo would have a bedroom. That included a lot of book moving, going up and down the stairs. Have I mentioned how clumsy Tohru is? Well, she was worse than me, and she tripped down the stairs.

"Tohru!" I scolded, "I told you not to take so many books!"

"Miss Honda! Are you okay?" Yuki asked in concern.

Tohru sat up and gathered the books she dropped, "Yes. . . But Shigure's books. . ."

"I told you not to help out so early in the morning" Kyo sighed

Yuki slanted Kyo a cool look, "She's doing it for you because Shigure's den is now your room. Of course she'd help!"

"I didn't ask for your help, you know!" Kyo growled

Yuki dropped all of his books on Kyo in response, making him fall down the stairs too.

I rolled my eyes and walked past them to help Tohru up. She was watching them argue with a pained look. I just thought it was sort of funny.

"YOU STUPID RAT!"

"Die. You're never going to change the way you are."

"YOU SHOULD CHANGE YOUR WEIRD HABITS!"

"He-e-ey! You guys! If you have time to argue, you have time to move books!" Shigure scolded them.I just smiled and stood as Yuki handed Tohru a stack of lighter books, really, even if they argued all the time, this was home. The doorbell rang as we were sticking books onto Shigure's bookshelf. Well, I was fixing all of the ones Kyo had crammed onto it, while he boasted about being faster.

"OH! They're here!" Tohru perked up and padded to the front door.****  
><strong>**  
>Soon enough, she lead Saki and Arisa into the room. She presented them as though they were a main show in in a museum.<strong><strong><br>****  
>"This is Saki Hanajima and Arisa Uotani!" Tohru beamed, "These are my best friends!"<p>

I smiled at the two, getting smiles in return.

"Hiya"

"Nice to meet you"

I guess I should explain why they were at the house huh? We, of course, had to ask Shigure for permission to tell them where we were staying.

****Flashback!****

****"Hey, Shigure" I stood next to Tohru, "We need to ask you something"****

****He looked at us over his newspaper, one eyebrow arched in curiosity. "Yes?"****

****"Um, as long as we're going to be living here, do you mind if we told two of our friends where we are?" Tohru asked, "I'm sure they would really want to know. If that's okay."****

****Shigure stared at us for a few seconds before smiling warmly, "So long as you don't mention the zodiac and what not, I don't particularly mind."****

**Tohru bowed happily, "Thank you so much!"**

****I smiled and put a hand on her head, not telling Saki and Arisa had been killing her. I didn't like not telling them either, they were two of my closest friends besides Tohru. ****

****We were eating lunch when we told them.****

****Let's just say Arisa had a hard time swallowing it all.****

****"WHAT!" Arisa shrieked in horror, "So not only were you living in a tent, but now you moved into Prince Yuki's house? Seriously?"****

****"Yes. I'm sorry for not saying anything about it sooner" Tohru apologized, "It was a lot that happened, but everything's fine now. And they're really nice people! So, there's nothing to worry about"****

**Saki paused in her eating of potato chips, "This is definitely a bolt out of the blue. I wonder, how will the Prince Yuki fan club react when they've heard the news"**

****I grinned, "Bring it, Kyo's been teaching me some Martial Arts. It'd be fun to smack them around a bit."****

****Saki turned her gaze on me, making me gulp. I was sure to get an earful later. Those two were serious about taking care of Tohru.****

****"Hm, I thought it was strange how you guys have been spending time with the Prince and Orange-Top so much lately." Arisa tilted her head to the left, "Now I understand"****

_**_**POP! **_**_

****Saki popped the potato bag in her hands, "Perhaps we should have them invite us over. I'd like to see for myself if this is a suitable environment for you two to be living in"****

****"Hey! Great idea, we should check it out right now!"****

****"If we show up unexpectedly, they may not serve snacks."****

**"Ooh, another good point! You're two for two." Arisa and Saki stood, "We'll come over tomorrow!"**

****I scratched my head as they walked away, "Did they just. . . invite themselves over?"****

****"Uh. . . uh-huh"****

****Shigure was all too happy when we told them they were staying the night. He was humming and wiping down the table.****

****"~High school girls! High school girls! 1, 2, 3, 4, high school girls!" Shigure sang, "I can't help but wonder what type of girls these friends of Tohru's and Amanda's are"****

****"A Yankee and a psychic" Kyo deadpanned****

****This lead to where we are now,****

**Flashback End!**

Shigure smiled warmly at them, "Please come in and make yourselves at home!"

"A dog" Saki said, "In there"

I think everyone's hearts all stopped until she pointed at the dog in the sitting room. I let out a shaky breath and shooed the animal out the back door, god, I could already tell this night would be nerve wracking. Once everyone was done panicking.

Arisa turned to Shigure."Excuse me, you. . . You're Shigure, right? What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm a novelist" Shigure boasted

"You're a novelist!" Tohru said with extreme shock.

I took my place at the table and raised an eyebrow at her, "Ru, we were just moving all of those books. Didn't you notice his name on some of them?"

"You write novels?" Yuki asked, "Pure literary novels?"

"Mmm, yes" Shigure pulled out a book with a crying girls on the cover, "Personally, I like this one"

I let my head hit the table, it was a trashy romance novel. Really Shigure? When we have guests over? I heard Shigure make and 'oops' sound before he pulled out another book. This one was decidedly plain looking.

"Sorry! That's just one that I like to read!" Shigure apologized.

Tohru clasped her hands in front of her and stared at Shigure admiringly, "To think one of the people close to me is actually a novelist!"

I rolled my eyes and rested my chin in my hand, "Ru dear, don't inflate his ego any more than it already is."

"Yes, Miss Honda, he'll get arrogant" Yuki said

"He already is" Grumbled Kyo, "Can it really get any worse?"

"Ah! That's right! I just thought about something, please wait here for a second" Tohru stood and left to go upstairs.

I stood, "I'll help"

__Regular P.O.V__

"I gotta say, I didn't know what to make of all this when they first told us" Arisa leaned against the table, "But it looks like they fit right in here. I'm happy for them, and I guess I can understand why they didn't want to tell us, but still, we made a promise. The four of us swore over Kyoko's grave, that when the time came, we'd all be there for each other. No matter what! That probably sounds a little over dramatic, but it wasn't, for us. After all, Tohru was our first real friend and everything. Tohru, Tohru and Kyoko both. You see, they were there for me when I needed someone most."

"Thanks to them, I found the strength to dig myself out of all the crap I'd fallen into. They helped me believe in myself, that I could change if I wanted to, and when I met the two of them. For the first time, I discovered that I did want to change. I wanted to be someone Tohru could be proud to call her friend, the way I was proud to call her mine. So this time around, with everything that's happened, the fact that I wasn't there to help Tohru. Tohru and Amanda. That bothers me. I mean, that they would even think they had to go through all this trouble by themselves, maybe they don't think they can count on us, and maybe we're just not that good as friends,"

"Nah" Kyo said quietly, "I don't think they're the kind of girls to worry about stuff like that."

Yuki nodded, "Miss Honda is, she's the kind of person to put others well being before her own. Miss Cho as well, she would rather suffer in silence than trouble others."

__Amanda's P.O.V__

I leaned against the sliding door and wiped at my eyes, Arisa had been finishing talking when I came back down. I opened the door and leaned against the frame, "You know Arisa, we didn't mean to make you feel that way"

They all looked up, startled by my appearance. I ruffled Kyo's hair as I passed him and sat next to Arisa. The girl scratched her head and laughed nervously.

"You guys are the best friends a person could ask for. You remember when that jerk, Hiro, cheated in me?"

Saki smiled, "Ah yes, I believe you kicked him in the groin, and then Arisa threatened him with her pipe."

I pointed at her, "Don't you act all innocent, I know for a fact the boy was hearing voices for a week"

Yuki and Kyo looked unsure how to react, and maybe a little disturbed. Tohru saved them from having to say anything by walking in.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" She held up a deck of cards, "Lets play Rich man Poor man!"

That lead to scary looks being shared between Arisa and Kyo. I rolled my eyes, really, those two could be brother and sister! Yuki shuffled the deck while I dealt the cards. There was a bunch of screaming and shouting until bed time, at which Arisa groaned about her sore throat

"Oh my, I yelled to much. Now my throat is sore" Arisa massaged her neck.

I pulled on my long sleep shirt and shorts, "It's gonna hurt after all the shouting you and Kyo did, I swear, you two could be siblings"

"Your beds are very nice" Saki perched on the edge of mine.

"Yes! Shigure bought them for us" Tohru smiled

"He's like an old man with his first grandchildren" Saki chuckled.

"Don't let him here you say that" I giggled, "He's quite touchy about his age"

Arisa pointed out the red had on Tohru's dresser as I braided my hair down my back, "You still have that old hat?"

"Yeah, because it's a happy memory!" Tohru picked up the hat and held it to her chest.

"Which memory? Tell us!" Saki asked.

"Yeah, I've always wondered why you had that." I leaned back on her bed, "What the deal?"

"Oh that's right, I still haven't told you two about it" Tohru smiled with her eyes closed, "When I was about 6 or 7, I was picked on by boys. One day, lots of them were chasing me and I got scared. I ran all over the place, and eventually, I got lost. I was afraid that they'd find me, so I hid myself. Night came and passed slowly, and I was scared. So scared that I began to cry. Then a boy in a hat showed up in front of me. He stared at me for a while and then ran off, because of that I ran after him. Several times I could almost touch his shadow, finally he stopped. When I noticed where we were I was so relieved, I was at my own front door. I don't know where the boy went, he only left me his hat and then he left. He didn't say anything."

I sighed and leaned back against her yellow comforter, "How romantic, wouldn't it be amazing if you two met up again and fell in love?"

"Yes" Saki agreed, "That would make it even more romantic"

"If I were to ever meet him again, I would want to thank him" Tohru sighed, "But that boy, he might've forgotten all about it by now. But now that I think about it. . ." she trailed off blushing lightly.

"You, even at a young age you remember such great stories" Arisa said affectionately

"Ahh, no I wouldn't say that!" Tohru blushed, "But I am very happy about this. . . I only noticed it a while ago. Living with the Sohma family, that is. And also that I had a mother that loved me, and also Hana, and Uo, and Mandy. Three great friends, you three always support me. Always by my side, never wanting anything in return. Always supporting me and giving me love. I'd be a fool if I didn't give thanks for that support. My favorite kind of people."

"They understand you very well don't they?" Arisa asked

I nodded, "Right down to a t"

Saki smiled, "It's true isn't it? That's just how Tohru is."

Tohru, being the clueless girl she was, only beamed at us and clapped her hands together, "How about we all sleep in my bed? It'll be like a real sleep over!"

Once we were all comfortable on her bed Tohru took my hand and Arisa's, and Saki grabbed mine. I smiled and snuggled against my best friends.

"The eternal friendship, right?"

"Yup!"


	9. Green Hair and Sour Apples

I managed to extract myself from the three girls the next morning without waking anyone up, believe it or not, Saki is indeed a cuddler. Kyo was already downstairs rummaging thru the fridge, probably for his morning milk. I had taken to getting him his own carton because he like to drink straight out of the box.

"Hey. . . Kyo" A yawn had broken my sentence.

He glanced up and looked back into the fridge before freezing and looking back at me, "What are you wearing?"

I arched an eyebrow at him before glancing down at myself. I was still in my knee length sleep shirt, it made it look like I wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"Oh please" I rolled my eyes and lifted the hem of the shirt up so he could see the mid-thigh length shorts I wore underneath, "Do you really think I would run around a house filled with guys in only a shirt? Really Kyo, what kind of girl do you think I am?" the last part was teasing.

Kyo's mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to find a way to retract his words. I let him sweat for a couple of seconds before winking with a sly smile.

"Gotcha!"

The look on his face was so priceless I couldn't help giggling, he pressed his lips together and blushed. Poor Kyo, he really wasn't used to anyone messing with him. Kyo glared at me and snatched his milk from the fridge, popping it open and drinking it. He finished it just as Yuki came downstairs, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Hey Yuki" Kyo turned to face him, "You seem- Gah!"

Yuki had turned to him and then seemed to lose any strength in his upper body, he leaned forward and his head landed on Kyo's shoulder. I covered my mouth and walked closer to look at his face. Yuki was out cold.

"Oh my god." I giggled again, "Is Yuki usually like this in the mornings?"

"Hey! Come on, open your damn eyes!" Kyo snapped at the comatose rat.

Yuki lifted his head up and walked away in a daze, I shook my head at the new side I had just witnessed to Yuki Sohma. If the fan girls at school ever found out Prince Yuki was ever so disheveled, the stupid girls would die.

Hmm, evil thoughts. . .

"You know, I'm impressed. Yuki was totally out of it, and you didn't try to kick his ass. Why not?" I tilted my head curiously.

Kyo seemed to go into his very own doom corner, "Because when he's half asleep, he's at his best"

My eye twitched, he's already tried. Oh well, what's to expect? But that means. . . "Does that mean he's going easy on you?"

Kyo crushed the milk carton in his hand, "Yes! I never held back when attacking him! He's fearless and cold blooded! Others have to train for results and he just gets them. That annoying RAT!"

__WHAM!__

The only warning he had was the sound of footsteps padding down the hall way, and even that wasn't enough. Yuki punched Kyo, sending the enraged cat to the ground. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the

trash can so I could clean up the milk carton, thank god it was empty.

"Hey! Aren't you asleep!"

"Your annoying voice woke me up"

"Alright bastard. . ." Kyo growled, "Come and get me, I'll beat your ass!"

Yuki gave him an, "Are you nuts?" look, "This early in the morning? What are you thinking?"

"IT"S MY LIFE GOAL!" Kyo shouted

"The **__**cat **__**and the **__**mouse**__******"****

All three of us froze, panicked expressions flitting across our faces as Saki spoke.

"You. . . are always fighting like those cartoon guys" Saki said

"Tom and Jerry?" Asked Arisa

Tohru was standing right behind them, her face a mask of stark relief. I laughed shakily and hitched the trash can on my hip,

"Morning guys"

"Their relationship seems kinda bad" Arisa said to me.

I shared a look with Tohru and smiled sheepishly, "Just a bit"

"But. . ." We all looked at Saki, "This family seems like a happy one. If Tohru and Amanda don't have a good living environment, I will come up with ways to solve that. Yes, many ways"

Kyo and Yuki gave her looks that screamed terror, Saki ignored them. "But the two of you sport pretty nice electric waves, even if they are unintentional."

Suddenly Saki and Arisa wrapped their arms around Tohru, Arisa reached over and snagged my wrist, pulling me into their group hug. I looked at them, just as confused as Tohru.

"Well, thank you for taking care of Tohru and Amanda" Arisa smiled

"Yes please take care of them" Saki said this with an underlying layer of threat.

Tohru began to tear up, "Uo, Hana. . ."

I just smiled and and reveled in the fuzzy feelings that my friends gave me. Man I loved these girls.

They both turned for the fridge and said something about coming to visit often. I just shook my head and followed them into the kitchen, really, they had no shame.

~LINE BREAK~

The cultural festival, it was only seven days away. A time for classes to get together and figure out what kind of booth they were going to do. Me? I usually sit in the back and fantasize bashing the Yuki fan club girls into little bits. Yes, I am a violent girl. They were always super obnoxious during this time because Yuki is class vise-president, so that means he will be in front of the class speaking. Ugh, fan girls.

"We already passed the health inspection, our rice ball booth can proceed smoothly" Speak of the devil, and he shall appear, "About the main ingredients of our rice ball's, does anyone have any suggestions?"

Arisa, Saki, and I were sitting around Tohru's desk, and Saki was braiding Arisa's hair. The girl was passed out on her desk, seemingly unaware of what's going on around her.

"What do you think about three flavored rice ball's?" Tohru spoke up, "We can use three different ingredients and it will be like getting three rice ball's in one, it could be fun!"

"How nice, a fine idea" Yuki smiled

"EWW!" I cringed as Mio Yamagishi's voice split the air, "I think you mean how disgusting! No way!"

One of her two friends, Mai Gotou, leaned back against her desk, "Like if you had salmon, and miso, and pickled plum all mixed together?"

Mio turned green, "That'd be disgusting- Ahh!"

She cut off in a scream because Arisa had slammed the end of her iron pipe into her desk. See? I told you she had one!

"It couldn't be any more sickening than your crappy attitudes, could it?" She asked menacingly.

"D-don't they have rules against bringing iron pipes to school?" Mio stammered out.

"Yeah" I glared at her, "They also have rules against fighting, but if you don't shut up, you'll see just how little I care"

Mio blanched under both of our glares while Tohru laughed sheepishly.

"I say we make it a rice ball battle" Kyo smirked

"A battle?"

"One on one, one round, no holds barred. And even if they get bloody noses and pull each others arms off they have to fight for the prize. Rice ball's!" Kyo became even more pumped as he talked.

The class gave a collective, "No way!"

Yuki touched his knuckles to his chin, "Hm, what about a. . . hit or miss? It will be a special offer, anyone who buys three rice ball's can choose a fourth for free. Only we'll have some misses mixed in that we can make with some strange ingredient or something"

I winced when the whole class began to agree with him, that was sure to set Kyo off. And sure enough, Kyo shouted his objections. "Oh sure! So you're all just going to follow whatever dumb idea he says!"

"You can't call us followers because we know a good idea when we hear one"

"Yeah, your idea was too weird, who wants to get all bloody over a rice ball?"

"Aww, don't get mad Kyon-Kyon!"

The whole class surrounded him, guys joking and girls giggling over the fuss he was making. Kyo just getting more, and more frustrated. I shook my head and smiled, he may not be very good in social situations, but he's got a lot of admirers and friends. I glanced at Yuki and saw him watching Kyo, some emotion flashed thru his eyes, jealousy, I think. But why would Yuki be jealous of Kyo? He turned and told his assistant that he had a student council meeting to go to, and was swamped with people asking him questions.

"Cats?"

My eyes snapped to Kyo and I almost fell out of my chair in surprise, he was covered in kittens. Tohru and Yuki had similar reactions.

"Shit" I muttered, "Kyo-"

"Ahh!" He stood and kicked the class door down on his way out, "Dammit all!"

I glanced at Yuki and motioned to the door, he nodded, understanding what I was asking. I stood and walked out into the hallway, stepping over the now broken door. I knew exactly where Kyo was, he only ever went to the roof when he was upset.

My suspicions were proven correct when I found him lounging up there, staring at the sky.

"Found you!" I said loudly, causing him to have a mini heart attack. "Ha! I knew I'd find you here, you always seem to go to the highest place when you're upset"

Kyo sat up and scowled, "What is it with you? D'you always gotta sneak up on me like that?"

I just grinned at him and scooped up a little white kitty, rubbing my face in its soft fur. "Hi there kitty, you're so adorable! They like you a lot don't they?"

"Like I'd know. They just come to me." Kyo grumbled, "With the dog, it's dogs, and with the rat, it's rats"

"How cool!" I giggled when the kitten in my hands batted at my nose.

"It's not __cool__! There was one time when Kagura and I were walking through the woods in the mountains and we were surrounded by wild boars! I thought they were going to eat us!" Kyo ranted.

I had to laugh at the image, Kyo had probably climbed up a tree while Kagura petted the wild animals. Kyo scowled at me.

"It's not funny! Anyway, what do you want?"

I shrugged, "I was worried about you, you seemed pretty pissed off when you left the class. Do you not want to help with the cultural festival?"

Kyo looked away, "They don't need me, as long as Yuki's there it'll go fine. . . he's always been smart and witty and good with people. People naturally respect them, they trust him. And even though I started training before him, he's a better fighter than I am."

Was he. . . jealous of Yuki? And if the look in Yuki's eyes back in the classroom was anything to go by, Yuki was jealous of Kyo. They were jealous of each other and didn't even know it.

"It's not fair. I'm special too. That punk"

I set the kitten down and moved so I was shoulder to shoulder with him, "Kyo, I think people are special in their own way. You have yours and Yuki has his. I get jealous of Tohru sometimes"

I could feel his start of surprise, "Tohru is just so kind and selfless, not to mention she has a way about her. It probably makes me a bad person, saying that, and I love her to itty bitty bits, but sometimes. . ." I shrugged.

Kyo shifted and I felt his knuckles tap the side of my temple, "It doesn't make you a bad person"

I smiled at him and stood stretching, "D'you want to go back to class? Or are you just going to skip for the rest of the day?"

When he didn't answer I smiled and patted his head, "Alright, I'll go let Ru know you're okay. See ya later!"

He scowled at me before cracking into a small smile, I felt a light blush across my cheekbones. I left and walked slowly back to the classroom.

Yuki wasn't there anymore, but Tohru, Saki, and Arisa were. Tohru hurried over to me, a worried look across her face.

"Don't worry Tohru" I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, "He's fine. Right now he's just avoiding the masses of kids wanting to ask questions."

School went by slow, all we were doing was sitting around. The teachers had given up on trying to teach, the kids were much too excited to sit still. Once school was let out we went home to start getting ideas ready.

**. . . ****_Small time skip later_****. . .**

"So wait, you're telling me a strange foreigner kissed you?" I scratched my head at Tohru.

We were sitting in our room after dinner, both ready for sleep, and Tohru was telling me about some kid that had kissed her in the school while Yuki and I were waiting outside for her.

Tohru nodded, "Yeah, and he spoke German. But all he did was kiss me on the cheek"

"Hm" I leaned back against my pillows, my thoughts once more going back to my conversation with Kyo earlier.

"Mandy?" Tohru's concerned face appeared in front of mine, "Are you okay? You're not getting a fever are you?" she pressed a hand to my forehead.

I smiled warmly and pulled her down onto my bed with me, "I'm not getting a fever Tohru, I was just thinking about something Kyo told me"

Tohru tilted her head cutely, "Can I ask what?"

I nibbled my thumbnail, "I don't see why not, maybe you can help me. You and Yuki are close, has he ever said anything about being jealous of Kyo?"

"Waa! I-I wouldn't say we are close!" Tohru turned a nice shade of magenta at my question.

I rolled my eyes, "What ever you say Ru, but seriously. Has he?"

She calmed down and pressed a finger to her chin, "Yes he has, he wishes he could be better with people like Kyo is. But I think he is fine anyway."

I nodded, "So they're both jealous of each other. That's what I thought, I caught the look Yuki had in his eyes when he was watching Kyo in class. Man, boys are confusing. And our boys are even more confusing" I rolled over and punched my pillow into shape, "I think we should get to sleep Tohru"

She yawned, "It's silly for them to be jealous of each other, especially when they have such wonderful qualities."

I agreed, but really, boys could be so ridiculous sometimes. Tohru hugged me before climbing onto her own bed. We had a long week of work before the festival.

~LINE BREAK~

"You damn RAT! I will END YOU!"

I rolled my eyes and finished applying the dye to my bangs, this time I was going for turquoise. Kyo and Yuki were, as usual, going at it again. This time apparently Yuki had looked at him wrong, and Kyo had snapped. Giving Yuki an opening to insult his intelligence. Tohru was out with Shigure, buying ingredients for our rice ball booth. Leaving me home alone with two headstrong boys.

__CRASH!__

"You stupid cat, must you always break something?" I heard Yuki sigh

"Hey! You kicked me threw it! Get out here so I can beat you up!" Kyo shouted.

"God dammit" I muttered, "Is it too much to ask for them to get along for one minute?"

Of course it was. I peeled off my gloves and set them in the sink before padding downstairs barefoot. The door in the sitting room was broken in half and Yuki and Kyo were outside trying to pulverize each other.

"Hey!" I called, "Is this necessary?"

"Of course it is dammit!" Kyo growled at me.

"Just a moment Miss Cho, this won't take much longer" Yuki said calmly as he landed a kick to Kyo's side.

"You guys need to stop this!" I warned them.

They ignored me in favor of beating on each other. I scowled and went into the kitchen, finding the biggest mixing bowl I could, and filled it up with ice cold water. Once it was full, I lugged it out to the back porch. If they wouldn't stop by themselves, then I would stop them.

"I'll count to three" I warned, "One, two. . . three. Suit yourselves."

__SPLASH!__

They froze, both of them drenched. I raised an eyebrow when they looked at me in shock. Kyo's hair was plastered to his face, and his scarlet eyes were wide. Yuki looked shell shocked.

"THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

"I warned you" I shrugged, " I even counted to three, you two are wet because you weren't aware of your surroundings. Now I'd go get dried off before you catch colds"

"WHY YOU-" Kyo was cut off by laughter coming from behind me.

"Hahaha! She certainly got you both!" Shigure laughed, "Perhaps you both need a little more training"

I turned to him, "Where's Tohru?"

"In the kitchen," Shigure blinked before sniffing the air, "Why do I smell chemicals-"

"Ahh!" I screeched, "MY HAIR!"

I said I had planned on turquoise right? Well what I got was bright friggin green. I stared into the mirror in horror as I ran my fingers thru the damp hair. Oh man, I looked like I had dunked my head into a can of paint!

"It doesn't look too bad" Tohru tried to console me, "I like it"

I groaned and turned to her, "Are you kidding me? I look like an idiot!"

"Damn straight you do" Kyo's laughing voice came from the doorway, "Karma's a bitch isn't she?"

I rounded on him with a glare, "Kyo! Don't you even start!"

"Why not?" He smirked, "It's not like you could do anything"

"Wanna bet?" I started towards him, "I'll make Kagura look tame"

He was unprepared for me launching my self at him, so I caught him in a hug. He spluttered in my arms, making me grin wickedly.

"When Kagura hugs you, you stay human. I can turn you into a ball of fur." I smirked, "And you hate that. Insult my hair again, and I'll lock you outside without clothes."

Kyo avoided me for the rest of the day. Smart guy. Shigure earned himself a whack to the back of the head, Yuki was too polite to say anything other than an insincere compliment.

Two days later found me and Tohru making test rice ball's for our stand. I found half the things she was making gross.

"Wow, this is going to be great!" Tohru smiled, "We already have so many recipes"

I smiled at her enthusiasm, it was still early. "Mostly thanks to you Ru, I'm still half out of it"

"What the hell?" Kyo eyed all the rice ball's, "Are you two planning on making a Rice ball Shop or something?"

"Ah! Good morning Kyo, you're always up early" Tohru greeted

"Too early" I mumbled.

He shrugged and reached for a rice ball, "Not really, it normal for me"

I almost let him eat the rice ball to see his face, but decided that would be cruel. Instead I snatched it from his hand, "I don't think you'd like that one Kyo"

"Why not?" He scowled.

"It's a leek rice ball"

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU MAKE SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"

"Er. . . um, it's for the festival" Tohru explained, "We were doing research for the surprise rice ball's. We're going to eat them all when we're done"

"You got any suggestions?" I asked

"Salmon and cod are all that belong in rice ball's" He growled, "I'll just make my own"

I watched him take some rice from the rice cooker and begin molding his own. I made a noise of envy,

"Wow, you're pretty good. I never knew"

"He is isn't he!" Tohru gasped, "That's great! I never would have guessed!"

"Ah!" Kyo looked at us in surprise, "When I was training I had to make my own meals, but making it look nice and making it taste good are two different things"

Tohru tilted her head, "Really? I think that if you asked someone who was training to make rice ball's , they'd be jealous of how well you make them"

"Like anyone'd train for that" Kyo grumbled, "Honestly, where do you come up with these things?"

I stood in the doorway with Tohru and watched him turn on the TV, he really had no idea did he? Just how great he was in his own way.

"Maybe it's stuck on his back" Tohru said.

I snapped my fingers, picking up on her train of thought as only I could. "That's it!"

"Huh?" Kyo looked back at us like we were crazy.

"If you think of the good qualities a person has as the pickled plum on a rice ball. . . it's as if their good qualities are stuck on their back"

I smiled and continued, "If you think of the people around the world as rice ball's, then they each have their own pickled plum stuck to their back. From the front they look plain and white, but if you turn them around they all have their own pickled plum of different shapes and colors. And because it's on their back, they may not be able to see it. Maybe. . . the reason people get so jealous is because they can see everyone elses good qualities and not their own"

"I can see them too" Tohru smiled warmly, "I can see them clearly, there's an amazing plum on your back Kyo. Yuki is wonderful in his own way"

"And you're wonderful in your own way" I crossed my arms and leaned against the door jamb while Tohru knelt next to Kyo.

Kyo turned bright red, "Th-That's exactly what I'm talking about! Where do you come up with that stuff? And why does it have to be a pickled plum? Some metaphor!"

"I-I'm sorry! Should I have used salmon?" Tohru stuttered, then the kettle went off. "Ah! The kettle!"

She ran past me to get the kettle, I turned to follow her in, but Kyo's voice stopped me.

"Hey" He wiped rice off of his chin, "You have one too, it's on your back. A plum. I can see it"

I could feel a light blush across my cheekbones, "Really?"

He turned away, "It's a reeeaallly tiny plum"

I smiled at his back, to me, Kyo was just Kyo. He didn't need to prove himself against Yuki to be amazing. I thought it was silly for him to be jealous of the guy. But then again, I didn't grow up being shunned by the people most important to me.

"I like little plums you know"

He turned to look at me with one eye, "Then it a sour apple. One as green as your bangs"

My eye twitched but I spoke sweetly, "Kyo, what did I say about making fun of my hair?"

He caught the edge in my voice and took off for the roof.

"KYO SOHMA!"


	10. Rabbit's Riceball's and Mother's, Oh My!

It was the day of the festival, we were currently getting the stand set up. Kyo and some of the other guys of class 1-D were putting the wood together that would make our booth.

"Hey, the frame is shaky" Kyo leveled the hammer and looked down the edge.

"Hey, it's not like we're making a house cat-lover"

"Yeah cat-lover"

"It's fine as long as it doesn't break cat-lover"

I chuckled at the nicknames they had given him, "He's gonna explode"

"Why the hell do you keep calling me cat-lover!" Kyo shouted, "You making fun of me or something?"

"See" I smiled at Tohru

"Oh, we know. You talk tough, but underneath, you're a nice guy who loves animals"

"He comes back and gets all noisy" Arisa groaned, "With his personality I'd like to see him cut loose at a party"

I paused with my sewing as the image of Kyo swing around from a chandelier like Tarzan flashed thru my brain. Oh my god. I burst into quiet laughter and continued with my needle work.

"That would be something to see" I agreed

"He came back without much of a fight" Yuki observed, "That's unusual"

"Because Yuki is Yuki, and Kyo is Kyo" Tohru beamed at the Prince

"Huh?"

"If this keeps up, Orangy'll have a fan club too before long" Arisa said

"Haha, that is very likely" Saki nodded.

"Yuuuukiiii"

We all turned to see a couple of upperclassmen girls beaming at Yuki. Somehow, I don't think that this will end in his favor.

"Senpai" Yuki acknowledged

"Actually, we have a present for you! We all pitched in to buy it, hoping you would wear it to the festival"

"Eh?"

I put the fabric down and leaned back in my chair to see what they were talking about. Then they pulled out a. . . a dress. I fell back in my chair out of surprise.

"Tadaah! A costume especially for Yuki!" They chorused

I bit my lip and clutched my sides as I laughed, "Oh man, poor Yuki!"

Yuki was frozen in horror as Kyo examined the dress the upperclassmen girls wanted him to wear. And knowing Yuki, he would be too kind to not wear it.

**. . . ****_Sometime later_****. . .**

The festival was in full swing, people were walking around and having fun. Saki was even dressed like a witch, holding some weird rod thing. I was sitting with Kyo and Arisa behind the stand, reading a book. Tohru was being bombarded with compliments on her rice ball's and she was trying to give me some credit. I just smiled and turned the page.

"Hey! You can't just take pictures, can't you tell Yuki doesn't like it?"

I turned and saw Yuki standing surrounded by girls in his festival costume. . .dress. . . thing. People were trying to take pictures, but the Yuki fan club was having none of that.

"Oh, I hope I haven't done anything to make Yuki mad at me, he looks upset" I heard Tohru say

"Aw don't worry about it" Kyo took a bite out of the cat shaped rice ball in his hand, "My guess is it's more embarrassment than he can stand to be dressed up like that. I mean, he's already got a big enough complex over that girly face of his"

I shook my head at him, "You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Yuki!"

I popped up at the familiar voice, what the hell was Momiji doing here? And why was he hanging onto Yuki? They obviously knew each other.

Momiji laughed, "Yuki, you look like a girl"

"What the hell is that little brat doing here?" Kyo asked

Tohru looked over at him, "That's someone you know then?"

"How do you know Momiji?" I asked him

"Momiji, you are not to wander off on your own" the deep voice of a man said.

I folded the corner of my page down and examined the man in front of us. He was tall, and he shaggy black hair with a piece of bangs hanging over his left eye.

"Yuki and Kyo, I see you two have been well" he said

"Hatori" Yuki said in surprise

The crowd that had surrounded Yuki now surrounded all three of them, Momiji pulled off his hat and smiled. "Hi there, my name is Momiji Sohma and this guy here with me is Hatori Sohma, and yeah, we're two of Kyo and Yuki's relatives."

"Oh, is that right?" Tohru asked Kyo.

"Yeah that's right" Kyo scowled, "But never mind Momiji, what is that bastard Hatori doing here?'

I pinched the bridge of my nose, "So, you're telling me, the cute kid who's always stopping by my work for cake, is a Sohma? And who is this Hatori guy?"

Said man pulled out a stethoscope and pressed it against Yuki's chest, "Alright, take a deep breath"

"Hatori's a doctor"

"So why is he here?" Tohru asked

I turned away from them and walked over to Momiji, "Miji, what are you doing here? I had no idea you were related to Kyo and Yuki"

"Ja!" Momiji smiled brightly at me, "I'm here because I ran into Tohru before, but I think I scared her" He pouted, "All I did was kiss her on the cheek"

I gaped at him, "You're the one who kissed her?"

I looked over at Tohru, who was having a conversation with Yuki and Hatori. Hatori said something and Yuki said something in a sharp tone.

"Hey! What are you doing? You can't climb on the stand!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing you little runt!" Kyo growled and pulled Momiji off the table.

"Easy Kyo" I put my hands up in a placating manner.

We got Momiji out of the room and behind a curtain, where Kyo punched the top Momiji's head.

"Now you stay here and sit still!" Kyo snapped

"Somebody! Kyo hit me!" Momiji cried

I sighed and patted his head, "Don't worry about Kyo, he can be mean sometimes"

Momiji turned and beamed at me, "Mandy! I'm so glad you're here!"

I smiled warmly, "It's good to see you again Miji"

"Wait! You know this brat?" Kyo pointed from me to Momiji.

"Mhm, Momiji is our favorite customer" I placed my hands on my hips, "He always buys my strawberry cake"

"Hey! You know about the whole zodiac thing right? Right?" Momiji hopped up and down in his spot.

"Yeah" I nodded, "So does Tohru"

"That great!" He beamed, "That means I can hug you!"

Kyo grabbed his head when he began to lunge at me, "Hold it lover-boy!"

"But Mandy doesn't mind if I transform in front of her! Do you Mandy!" Momiji reached for me.

"Do you even know where you are?" Kyo groused

I guess this means that Momiji is a part of the zodiac. It explains why he wouldn't let any of the ladies at work get too close to him.

"Kyo, you're just trying to keep Mandy all to yourself because she's so cute! You probably hug her everyday!"

I flushed at his words, so did Kyo. "Hell no! Who would want to do that?"

"ME!" Momiji slipped out of Kyo's grasp and tackled me.

Momiji transformed as soon as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I fell back in a cloud of smoke, once it cleared a little yellow rabbit perched on my knee.

There was chaos and people pulled back the screen, "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"Hold on! Aren't these Momiji's clothes?" Mio held up the shirt on the ground

My thoughts were a mass of __shitshitshit __and __crapcrapcrap__. Kyo was frozen in panic, as was I. Momiji just twitched his ears looking cute as the kids all began asking questions.

"He's not running around naked is he?"

"This is weird!"

"No kidding! This __is __weird!"

"Could it be any weirder than me? It's freakish, a boy in a dress!" Yuki pulled the attention away from us.

I scooped the rabbit up and ran with Tohru and Kyo, poor Yuki. He embarrassed himself to give us time to get away.

We ran to the roof where I collapsed in relief. Momiji was resting on my head and Kyo was railing at him. Hatori joined us after a couple of minutes.

"You little brat! Do you know what you almost did?" Kyo shouted.

"You will be grounded for a week" Hatori said calmly

I stood and handed Momiji to Tohru before walking to Hatori, "Hi I'm Amanda Cho, pleased to meet you"

He looked me over, "I'm Hatori Sohma, the pleasure is mine. Interesting. . . hair"

I twitched and forced myself to smile, "Thank you"

Hatori turned back to Momiji, who clung to Tohru. "Wa! Tohru, they're scaring me!"

"You leave her alone!

"You're just lucky that Yuki was able to distract them" Hatori said

"Yeah" Kyo smirked, "he just had to bat those pretty eyelashes of his and- Ahh!"

Yuki appeared out of nowhere and punched Kyo into the air, "Next time I'll send you flying off the roof"

Kyo landed and clutched his mouth, "Damned rat"

I winced and leaned over Kyo, "You're not bleeding are you?

"No dammit!" He snapped, then instantly looked remorseful.

"That's good, I think your aspiring fan girls would die if they saw a bruise on your face" I hummed thoughtfully, "Then again, it could just add to your bad boy image."

He looked so horrified by the prospect of fan girls, that I sort of felt bad for mentioning them. "Hey if you want them to leave you alone, just tell Kagura about them."

He seemed to consider it before deflating, "Nah, she'd kill'em"

"Mandy! Hari says I have to go!"

I turned away from Kyo and frowned at the older man, "Do you really have to go?"

"Yes, it would be a shame if you didn't stay longer" Tohru said.

"Take a moment then, I'll give you that long to say your goodbyes"

"Hari, you're so dull!" Momiji pouted

"You heard him! Now go home!" Kyo shouted.

I ignored Kyo and knelt to pull Momiji off of Tohru's head, "It was great seeing you again, stop buy and I'll have some of your favorite cake ready!"

The little rabbit perked right up, making Tohru giggle. "Kay!"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot something very important" Hatori turned to Yuki and Kyo and gestured to the fence lining the roof, "You two line up right there"

Once they did he turned serious, "I want you both to give me a simple answer to this question. What is the last letter of the alphabet?"

"Z" They chorused, mouths pulled up so that it looked like they were smiling.

__Snap! __There was the flash of the camera.

"Akito wanted me to take a picture of you while I was here. That should be a very nice shot, so long then."

He took Momiji and began walking down the stairs, "Bye-bye!"

I laughed, "He got you two good!"

Kyo growled, "Hatori! Get back here!" then he took off after the doctor.

I rolled my eyes, "I'll go after him to make sure he doesn't hurt anybody"

Tohru waved me goodbye while Yuki just looked depressed. Oh well, he probably is just horrified that someone actually got a picture of him in a dress.

I guess I should have gone after him sooner, because I had no idea which way they went. Kyo was probably running around like a madman trying to find them.

"well, lookie here. If it isn't little Amanda"

I froze in the middle of one of the schools breeze ways, I knew that voice. What was __she __doing here? It had been almost two years since I'd seen her packing up her car. She couldn't be here.

But, sure enough, when I turned around, there was my mother standing behind me. And she wasn't alone. There was a man standing next to her, he was decidedly American. With shortly cropped blonde hair and a five o'clock shadow. I didn't see what color his eyes were, because they were shielded behind a pair of dark sunglasses.

My mother looked practically the same. Black hair, cut to her shoulders, and hard brown eyes. Her mouth was turned up in a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and she was wearing an expensive looking dress and black heels. The only thing that had changed was, that instead of a liqueur bottle in her hand, it was a cell phone.

"__Mom!__" I gaped.

She smirked at me, "Yeah, that's me."

"W-what are you doing here? And who is he?" I looked from her to her friend.

She feigned looking insulted, "I can't come and see my only daughter after two years?"

I crossed my arms and waited for the answer to my second question, I had a feeling I wasn't going to like what I heard.

"Oh fine, this is Josh Brandon, my husband" She held up her left hand to show off the diamond, "See?"

Both of my eyebrows shot up, nearly into my hairline. "You got __married__?"

Was she serious? Hikari Cho was not one for commitment. I sighed, "That still doesn't explain why you're here"

Her husband, Josh, snaked his arm around my mother's waist. "Just tell her Hikari"

"Yeah, tell me" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice!" She snapped, "I am your mother!"

"Seriously?" I laughed without humor, "You're a bit late to be acting all motherly, __Hikari__"

__Smack! __

My head snapped to the side as her hand cracked across my cheek. Did she just. . . slap me? I stared at her in shock as she raised her hand to do it again. Josh just watched without interest. As her hand came down a second time a familiar arm blocked it, I recognized the black and white beading of the bracelet on the wrist.

"K-Kyo?"

"Mandy! Are you okay?" Momiji grabbed my hand with worry written on his face.

"Come here so I can look at your cheek" Hatori lead me over to one of the benches.

"What are you guys still doing here?" I blinked rapidly, "I thought you were long gone!"

"We were running from Kyo when we saw that mean lady hit you!" Momiji babbled as Hatori twisted my face to examine my cheek, "Who __is __she anyway?"

"Oh" I murmured, "My mother"

Hatori let go and stood to face her, "Hmm, so you're Amanda's mother. Well, Mrs. Cho-"

"Mrs. Brandon" My mother sniffed, "This is my husband, Josh. Now if you will excuse me, I was talking to my daughter"

I stood with Momiji still clutching my hand and moved next to Kyo, gripping his sleeve with my free hand. I did __not __want to be alone with this woman. Kyo glanced down at me and moved so he was holding my hand.

"I apologize, Mrs. Brandon. But if you are indeed Amanda's mother, may I ask you why you are hitting her?" Hatori was as unruffled as the calm before the storm.

"No" She snapped, "You may not. We are here to take Amanda home. Back to America"

"What!" I gasped. But I didn't want to leave! Not when I had met Kyo and Yuki and Shigure, and what would I do without Tohru?"

"She's not going anywhere!" Kyo growled.

Josh pulled off his sunglasses, revealing green eyes, to look down his nose at Kyo, "You're just a kid, so is she. She doesn't have a choice"

"Actually" Hatori put a hand on my shoulder, " Mrs. Brandon, you left Amanda alone at the age of fourteen and a half to fend for herself, isn't that right?"

I stared at him, how did he know that? "Yeah, if it weren't for Tohru finding me I'd have probably starved"

"I see" He looked at my mother, "That is child neglect, and child abandonment. Amanda could choose to press charges if she was so inclined" Hatori turned to me,"Amanda, what is your decision?"

What? Could I really do that? Press charges on my mother? I examined her and her husband, she was looking slightly panicked and pissed. Josh just looked uncomfortable.

"I won't press charges" A relieved look passed over her face, "__If __you go back to America and leave me alone."

She went right back to looking pissed, "Where are you going to stay? With this Tohru friend of yours? How are you going to support yourself?"

"Actually, a friend of mine has taken both Tohru and Amanda into his care." Hatori said, "With Kyo here and another young man named Yuki. And she has a job"

"Yeah, she makes the best cake ever!" Momiji interjected.

She turned red, "You're living with a bunch of men?" Her laugh was a little crazy, "Here that Josh? My daughter's a slut"

I gripped Kyo's hand tight to keep him from lunging, even though all I wanted to do was go for her jugular. "Oh that's rich"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She asked indignantly.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already, mommy dearest" I spat, "What is this, man number twenty? Look out buddy, hope you got a prenuptial"

"Why you ungrateful little bitch!" Hikari snapped, she was no longer my mother. "Come on Josh! We are leaving"

"Hey Hikari" I called after, "This is it, I never want to see you again!"

She said nothing as she stormed away. I didn't relax until she was out of my sight, and even then I had to force myself to take a deep breath.

"Mandy, are you okay?" Momiji asked again, tugging on my hand a little.

I let go of Kyo's hand with a squeeze and tapped Momiji's nose, "I'm just fine Miji, thank you for worrying though"

Momiji didn't look reassured, so I smiled and winked, despite the sting in my right cheek. "Hey, next time you stop by work, your piece of cake is on the house. Kay?"

He broke into a smile, "Kay!"

Hatori nodded at me, "Come along Momiji, we must be going now. Amanda, be sure to put some ice on your cheek when you get the chance."

Kyo was quiet until they were out of sight,"So that was your mom?"

"No" I shook my head, "The only mother I've ever known was Kyoko, Tohru's mom"

That was the truth, the only person who has ever shown me any motherly concern was Kyoko, and for that, I considered her more of a mother than Hikari. Sad isn't it? I couldn't even call the woman who gave birth to me mom.

"Let's go back to the classroom" Kyo grabbed my hand again and began pulling me behind him.

"Hey Kyo" I tugged him to a stop, "Don't say anything about this to Tohru, okay? I don't want to worry her needlessly."

I saw his shoulders lift in a sigh, "Fine"

He began tugging me along again, "Hey, Kyo?"

"What?" He sounded exasperated.

"Thank you"

"Your welcome" He said gruffly.

~LINE BREAK~

Yuki and Tohru were waiting in the classroom. The first thing Tohru noticed was the red mark on my cheek.

"Mandy! What happened?" She asked

I smiled, ouch, and patted her arm reassuringly. "S'okay Ru, I ran into a door running after this knucklehead" I jerked a thumb over my shoulder at Kyo.

"Hey!"

"Did you at least get the camera?" Yuki asked Kyo.

Kyo froze before growling, "Don't you even start!"

"Ah!" Yuki turned to Tohru and I, "Miss Honda, Miss Cho."

"Yes?" Tohru and I asked

"I know this might sound odd, but. . . its about Hatori. If you ever meet him again, try not to be alone with him"

"Eh? How come?" Tohru asked.

Yes, how come? I shot a glance at Kyo, but he wasn't paying any attention to me. Why would he not want us alone with Hatori?

"Well. . . Hatori himself isn't all bad" Yuki said, "But, Miss Honda, remember the incident I told you about? The one who suppressed all their memories was Hatori"

I bit my lip, well that explains it.

****"****_**_**Paging Tohru Honda and Amanda Cho from class 1-D, please come to the conference room on the first floor immediately" **_**_A voice over the school intercom startled us, ****"****_**_**I repeat, Tohru Honda and Amanda Cho, from class 1**_**__**_-_**__**_**D**_**___"__

"I wonder what it is. . ." Yuki looked up at the speakers.

"Eh? Eh? Me?" Tohru pointed at herself.

I shrugged, "Come on Ru, lets go check it out"

She was quiet all the way to the conference room, I could tell she was thinking about what Yuki had said. To me, Hatori wasn't so bad. I was grateful that he stepped in when Hikari had tried to take me away.

"Here we are" Tohru said nervously, "I hope we didn't do anything wrong"

I chuckled and rested my hand on her head, "Tohru, if anyone did anything wrong, it was probably me. Let's go in"

I don't know what I was expecting when I opened the door, but it sure as hell wasn't Hatori sitting in a chair smoking a cigaret. Tohru froze, probably going over what Yuki told her back in the classroom I wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and acknowledged Hatori with a small smile. One that didn't hurt my face.

"Hey Hatori, sup?"

"Hello" Hatori nodded back, "I'm sorry for calling you here like this. Kyo seemed to have his hands full, but with Yuki there, I didn't think I'd get the chance to speak to you in private"

Well this is great, right after we were told to try and not be alone with him, he calls us to the conference room for a private chat. Yuki will be thrilled.

Hatori held out a folded slip of paper, "Here is my address. Come see me on your next day off"

"Eh!" Tohru squeaked.

I just grabbed the paper and tilted my head at him, "What's this about Hatori?"

"I would like to talk with you at length. . . about something important. Please don't mention it to Yuki or Kyo."

I examined the paper in my hands and sighed. What to do, what to do? To go or not to go, that is the question.

"O-Okay!"

Apparently we're going. I looked over at the shorter girl with a slight frown, she looked on the verge of collapsing. Good thing Hatori is a doctor.

"Excellent" Hatori took a drag on his cigaret, "You might even be able to meet Akito"

"EH!"

"Don't worry!" Momiji wrapped his arms around her waist without actually touching her, "I'll be there to make sure Hari doesn't do anything dirty! So come on Tohru!"

I smiled warmly, Momiji was trying to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere. You gotta love the kid. I didn't have a problem going, but if the boys figured out where we were they'd blow a friggin gasket.

"Look you. . ." Hatori started

"Tohru and Mandy are ladies! They'd be scared to be left alone with a man!"

I laughed at the disgruntled look on Hatori's face and patted Momiji's head. "I'd definitely feel better if you were there Miji!"

As we were leaving Hatori called me back. I assured Tohru I'd be fine before turning back. Momiji hopped over to me and grabbed my hand.

"I called Shigure to let him know about your little encounter today" he puffed his cigaret, "He was the one who told me about your predicament, in case you were wondering."

I shook my head ruefully, "I shoulda known. He really is a dog sometimes."

"Shii means well Mandy!" Momiji beamed up at me.

"I know" I smiled down at him before looking up at Hatori, "And I wanted to say thank you for before, with Hikari"

Hatori nodded, "You are welcome."

I patted Momiji's head before going to leave, pausing when Momiji said my name.

"What is it Miji?"

"Why did you dye your hair green?"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ALWAYS WITH THE GOD DAMN HAIR!


	11. Doctors Visit and New Years Cleaning!

"Man its cold!" I shivered, rubbing my arms for warmth.

"It is chilly" Tohru agreed.

We stood in front of a giant set of gates, freezing our asses off and debating on running home. Tohru had fed the boys some bull about going to a friends house, but something told me Shigure knew exactly where we were going.

"It's so big" Tohru whispered, "I guess the Sohma's must be a big family"

I nodded, not really listening. What would Hatori want with us? And why couldn't we tell Kyo and the others about our little visit. I __really __didn't want to see Akito.

"HI!"

Tohru and I both jumped right out of our skins at Momiji's sudden appearance. The kid was perched on top of the giant gate Tohru and I were just being intimidated by.

"Momiji!" Tohru waved her arms around frantically, "I-I-I didn't see you there!"

"You scared the crap out of me!" I held my palm over my pounding heart.

"You're right on time!" He waved at us, "Go ahead and let yourself in!"

He disappeared behind the wall, and Tohru called for him to wait before drooping in defeat. I sighed and scratched my head.

"Alright Ru" I pressed my hands against the wooden door, "Time for our appointment with Hatori"

"Oh I hope we're not intruding" Tohru peeked over my shoulder.

"Come in! Come in! Welcome to the House of Sohma!" Momiji welcomed us with an extravagant arm wave.

I waved back and looked around the place with a low whistle, "It's huge in here, see Ru, I told you they were loaded"

I looked over at Tohru, but she wasn't paying any attention. She was silently sending herself into a panic again. I rolled my eyes and took her hand, gently leading her over to Momiji. He took her other hand, breaking her out of her silent frenzy.

"Come on! I'll show you the rest of the way to Hari's house!" He pulled Tohru forward a little before pausing to look back, "What? You're not scared are you?"

"N-no, of course not!" Tohru smiled nervously.

I arched an eyebrow at her, __liar.__

"I like Hari a lot" Momiji told her, "I think you will too once you get to know him"

Tohru's face morphed into a warm smile, I think Momiji's bubbly personality was helping her to calm down.

"I'm sure we will" I squeezed her hand, " Lead on Miji"

Momiji kept up idle chatter as he lead us to Hatori's house, keeping Tohru relaxed. I was just marveling at how large the whole place really was. It didn't look this big from the outside. Too soon we were sitting in Hatori's house, in a room that I think would be considered his office.

"Please relax, make yourself comfortable"

"O-oh, okay" Tohru stammered, sitting with her but resting on her calves.

I just crossed my legs and traced patterns on my black jeans while Hatori opened the sliding doors to reveal a zen garden. I shivered and looked around the room. Momiji was perched on Hatori's desk, totally relaxed. There was a picture on the desk, pretty much the only personal thing in the whole room. It was of a woman standing beside a rose bush. She was very pretty.

Tohru went stiff beside me, making me look over in worry. But she was just worrying herself into a frenzy again. I could have sworn I saw her soul leave her body when she leaned forward and pressed her hands to the floor before her.

"Tohru?" I placed a hand on her back.

"Tohru, are you alright? You don't look so good" Momiji asked, "You want Hari to look at you? He is a doctor you know"

"No!' Tohru shot up with her hands fisted on her knees, "I'm alright, everything's fine!"

"I am a doctor, yes, but my practice is solely devoted to the Sohma family. And I should say Akito in particular" Hatori sat himself in the chair at his desk, "He suffers from frequent illness and requires most of my time"

"Oh, I had no idea"

I hummed in agreement with Tohru, I had been picturing some buff dude with an attitude problem.

"My time is valuable" He looked over at us, "Right to the point then?"

"The floor is yours Doc" I rested an elbow on my knee and placed my chin in my palm.

Hatori gave me a look with no humor, "Even within the Sohma family itself, there are few who know our secret in regard to the Zodiac. It is exceedingly rare that a complete outsider, let alone two, such as yourselves, should come to know if it. Ordinarily, this would have been corrected at once. But, thus far, it seems that Akito has made an exception in your case. Tell me, do you enjoy living there, in Shigure's house?"

"Y-yes, very much" Tohru answered.

I nodded, "There is a lot of chaos, but I love it there"

"All the more reason that you should leave"

I sat up and stared at him, probably looking like a guppy. Leave? Did he not understand that I have nowhere to go but to America, with Hikari and her new boy-toy?

"It would be best for you if you had nothing to do with the Sohma's. Leave Shigure's house and return to your own family, that is only reasonable, is it not?" Hatori stood and walked over to the open sliding door, "Knowing Shigure, I doubt he would ever say anything to you, but there are many dark secrets within the House of Sohma"

By now, any warm feelings I may have had for the man were right out the window. I would live on the streets again before going back to my sad excuse for a mother.

As for dark secrets, what? They were secretly all transvestites?

"Life among us is not as pleasant as you seem to believe. An evil shadow looms over this family, that is the nature of our curse." He turned to us, "Before you come to regret having been involved with the Sohma's, leave them"

There was a very pregnant pause before Momiji hopped up, "Say Hari, I want to show Mandy and Tohru the gardens. Come on guys!"

I glanced back as the rabbit lead us out of the room. Hatori was looking after us, a sad look in his visible eye. I had a feeling he had first place experience with what he was saying.

As we walked through the gardens, I stuffed my hands into my pockets. It was really quiet, like a ghost town.

"It's quiet, isn't it?" Momiji asked

"Oh, yes, it is" Tohru nodded.

"It's because everyone is at the main house getting ready for new years. It's really big deal for us, we all get together, so there's a lot to do" Momiji began pointing around him, "Know what? From that tree line road outside the gate, to the main house over there, everyone who lives here, they're all related to the Sohma family"

"All of them?" Tohru gasped, "That's incredible!"

"Jeez" I murmured, "Big family. Must make Christmas hell"

"Shigure and Yuki, they used to live here too, a long time ago." Momiji turned around, his hands folded behind his back. "The only people who can live inside the gate are the Zodiac, like me, or people who know about the secret."

Momiji took us back to Hatori's office, but the doctor wasn't in. So we sat on the porch area, staring out at the zen garden. I twisted a chunk of blonde hair around my finger and built up the courage to ask what had been on my mind.

"Hey, Momiji" They both looked at me, "Something happened to Hatori, didn't it?"

Momiji's eyes went wide before he smiled softly, "Did you know, Hari can barely see out of his left eye?"

I pulled my knees up to my chest and shook my head no, "No, I didn't"

"Hari had a girlfriend once, her name was Kana. She worked as his assistant for a while, and I remember, she was really nice. When she found out about Hari and the Zodiac and all, it didn't bother her, she just laughed about it. They got engaged, and they were going to get married, but when they told Akito. . . well, he got really, really angry. And he said he wasn't going to allow it. I guess his temper got out of control because, that's when he hurt Hari's eye. But Hari didn't blame him though, and Kana, she blamed herself. She was convinced that Hari getting hurt like that was all her fault. She couldn't forgive herself, and it gradually, started to eat her away inside. So, Hari did the only thing he could do, he erased Kana's memories. He couldn't stand her doing that to herself, so he made her forget they were ever in love. Kana left, Hari cried. And in spite of all that, he never once blamed Akito."

"Why?" Tohru asked, head down.

I already had my head buried in my knees and tears streaking down my cheeks, so something had happened to Hatori. He'd had to erase his loves memories. He was trying to protect us from that same pain.

"Well" Momiji said, "Because that's the curse. That's why I can understand a little about what Hari feels. He doesn't want anyone else to end up like Kana did. He doesn't want you two to be hurt the same way she was."

I sniffed and Tohru began crying, which lead to me sending Momiji a very watery smile.

"A-are you two crying?" Momiji asked, "Was is me? Did I make you cry? I'm sorry! I'm sorry okay?"

"N-no, that's not it" Tohru said through her hands, "It's just that, I was so worried about coming here."

I nodded, "We both were, but he was only trying to help us. He was only trying to prevent the past from repeating itself"

"He was being kind, but after what he's been through, he's the one who deserves to be shown kindness. Not me" Tohru wiped away her tears with shaky hands.

I did the same, "He seems so intimidating and stoic, but that's just him trying to be strong, isn't is? I'm glad I got to meet him, got to meet all of you."

Momiji blinked owlishly, before standing. "I'll go get something to warm us up, okay? I'll be right back, you can go inside if you want!"

I sniffed and began taking off my shoes, "I love that kid"

Tohru copied me, "Yes, he's very sweet"

That's when I felt something wet plop on my nose, I went a little cross eyed trying to see what it was. That's when Tohru stood and gasped, "It's snowing"

"It's so pretty" I stood next to her.

Tohru turned around to go inside, but she stopped and made a little noise of surprise. Hatori was standing there when I turned around, all stoic, and expressionless.

"I'm sorry" Tohru apologized, "I guess I don't know much about the Sohma's"

"And there's no reason why you should" Hatori said decisively, "In fact it would probably be best if you forgot whatever it was Momiji told you"

I blinked in shock, he was eavesdropping! "Somehow" I turned back around to look at the snow, "I really don't think that's gonna happen."

"Does that mean" Tohru began hesitantly, "That you've forgotten about her, Hatori?"

"It's. . . all in the past" Hatori sighed.

"I'm sorry" Tohru apologized again.

"There's nothing to apologize for" Hatori told her, "I do still speak with Kana from time to time. But that's all, now I wonder if you would be so kind as to excuse me. I believe I've said enough for one day"

I turned to face him as Tohru spoke, "Oh no please! I'd really like it if you stayed, maybe you could show me around the house-ah!" she gasped as she slipped back off the porch.

"Tohru!" I made to lunge for her, if she hit those rocks, she'd get hurt!

But Hatori beat me to it, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into him, spinning them around until it was him who hit his head on the rocks. I jumped down just as he transformed. . . into a seahorse. . . The hell?

"Hatori!" Tohru gasped

"Shit! Tohru, what do we do? Seahorses live in the ocean!" I knelt next to them.

"Water, no, sea water! What do I do! HATORI!" She waved her hands around in panic and collapsed next to him.

"Oh come ON!" I shouted, "Now is not the time Ru! Dammit!"

Somehow, I managed to get them both into the house. Tohru was covered in her coat, and once Hatori changed back, I blindly threw his coat over him too. While they were both passed out I examined his office closely. It was just as I had first thought, the picture of Kana was the only personal item he had in his whole office. I picked it up and sat back on the porch, my feet swinging. To my utter shame, tears began to flow again. I am such a crybaby.

"Hatori" I murmured, "I'm so glad to have meet the Sohma's, they really are a wonderful bunch." I let out a wet chuckle, "You probably felt that way too, huh Kana. I wish Hatori still had you, hell, I wish there was some way to help ease his pain"

And now I'm talking to a photograph.

A rustle behind me caught my attention. Without thinking, I turned around to see if Tohru was waking up. Nope. It was Hatori.

"AH! I'm sorry!" I spun back around, blushing beet red. "I promise I didn't look! First you transformed, and then Tohru passed out, I didn't know what else to do, so I moved you up here and covered you with your coat-"

"Did you see it?"

Me being a high school girl, my brain instantly went to the worst possible thing. "No! I didn't, I swear! I-"

"I mean my Zodiac form" Hatori interrupted before I could work myself up too much.

"Oh" I smiled, "Yes, we both did. It was pretty cute, I'm sure Tohru will tell you the same when she wakes up. But, I'm just glad you're okay. And I wanted to say thank you for doing that for Tohru"

I looked up in surprise when he stood next to me, and stood too, holding out Kana's picture to him. "Sorry, I kinda took it without asking"

He took the photo and looked out to the snow, "Tell me, when the snow melts, what does it become?"

I smiled and wiped at the water tracks on my face, "Other people would say water, but I say it becomes spring. It's my favorite season."

"Mandy's right, winter gets all cold and windy, and then it melt away into spring" I turned around to see Tohru standing behind us with Hatori's coat, "Oh, you must be cold! If you want, I could try to find us something to warm us up"

I paused and tapped my chin, "Something to warm us up, feels like, deja vu"

"Ah! Lo and behold, there they are!" Shigure walked around the corner with Momiji trailing after him, "Well, I've been looking for you two, imagine my surprise when I found a little lost bunny instead"

"Momiji!" Tohru gasped, "Oh I guess it wasn't deja vu, you have drinks!"

"Haha!" He laughed, "Sorry it took so long!"

Shigure took a can and tossed it to Hatori, "Hari!"

Hatori caught it nonchalantly, "So what brings you here?"

Momiji handed us our drinks while Shigure took his, I snatched it out of his hands and handed it to Momiji. Shigure pouted, but answered Hatori.

"I suddenly had a feeling that the girls were here in need of a rescue" he said, "Call it a writer's intuition if you will"

I snorted in a very unladylike manner, "Why would we need rescuing? Hatori is nothing like __you__"

"Amanda" Shigure whined

"That's a lie" Hatori shook his head, "You only came to see the new years decorations, didn't you?"

"Don't let these two fool you" Momiji whispered confidentially to us, "They've been best friends since they were kids"

Tohru and I turned to look at the two. Shigure perked up, "Oh Tohru, Amanda, have you two asked Hatori what Zodiac animal he is?"

"One more word Shigure, and the entire publishing industry will know every embarrassing thing you've done since you were four years old"

"Understood" Shigure held up a hand, "My lips are sealed."

"It's not like its that hard to figure out" Momiji said

"Momiji!"

Tohru put her finger to her cheek, " I really don't see how it's anything you should be embarrassed about"

I sipped my warm drink, "Yeah, its kinda cool actually"

Shigure looked between us in surprise, and Hatori just sipped his drink. Tohru did the same and smiled, "It's so warm"

When it came time for Shigure to lead us out, I kissed Hatori's cheek in thanks. The man blinked in shock. Thankfully, Shigure, Momiji, and Tohru were waiting outside."Thanks Hatori, for worrying about us. You're a good person"

I left before he could say anything and gave Momiji a hug the only way I could without him turning into a bunny. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his neck, not touching any other part of him.

"Bye Miji! Hopefully we see each other again soon!"

"Kay!" He squeezed my hands, "Bye-bye!"

"I can see how this might have been stressful to for you two" Shigure said as we were walking out, "But now that it's over Hatori isn't that bad of a guy, is he?"

"Nope!" Tohru smiled happily, "In fact, he was really quite the gentleman"

I stuffed my hands into my coat pockets, "And I wouldn't really call it stressful, more like, enlightening"

A feather swished by Tohru, and she involuntarily followed it. I thought nothing of it until she froze in surprise. I turned and saw what she was seeing. There was a guy, leaning out of an open window. He was pretty, almost feminine. Was he. . . Akito?

"Lets go Tohru, Amanda" Shigure broke me out of my reverie, "You'd better stay with me, it's easy to get lost in here"

"Shigure, tell me" Tohru turned to him, "What is the curse exactly? I mean, am I doing something that I shouldn't be?"

I looked at Shigure too, curiosity evident on my face. "I was wondering too, I don't want to cause any trouble for you"

Shigure's face softened into a small smile, "I wouldn't worry, just keep being yourselves. That's really all you need to know"

When we got home, we called out, telling the boys we were back, but they didn't answer. I padded down to the sitting room and came across an adorable sight. They were passed out under the kotatsu.

"I guess sitting around the heater like that got to be a little too comfortable" Shigure whispered.

"I guess so" Tohru agreed.

"It might be dangerous to try and wake them up. Why don't we let them sleep a little longer."

I grinned and slipped under the kotatsu, careful not to bump them. I sort of felt like I learned a little bit about the Sohma's, but I still had a lot of questions with no answers.

~LINE BREAK~

"I hate house cleaning" I grumbled.

It was the last day of the year already, the day we do our new year's cleaning, December had gone by way too fast for my liking. Almost like father time had decided to say "Ef you!" and press fast forward.

Yuki was cleaning the sliding paper door when Kyo and I were walking by, and he ended up pressing a little too hard, putting a fist sized hole in the door.

"Dammit!" Kyo readjusted the TV. in his hands, "Can't you do anything right?"

Yuki scowled at him, "You're the last person I need to hear from right now!"

"What's that supposed to mean? You trying to start something?"

I rolled my eyes and hitched the laundry basket in my arms on my hip, "Come on you guys-"

"Quit horsing around you two" Arisa interrupted

"Who asked you ya dirty bitch! AH!"

I stifled laughter as Arisa wrapped the dusty end of the duster around Kyo's head in retaliation, "You gonna talk to me like that after I came over to help you clean out of the goodness of my heart?"

I giggled, "Go easy on him Arisa, you'll hurt his pride"

"I think I'm gonna wet my pants"

I scrunched my face up as Shigure hopped past us to the bathroom. TMI dude. He paused at the 'Closed for cleaning' sign Saki had put up before opening the door. Saki turned to him with the plunger in one hand.

"Didn't you see the sign? It's closed for cleaning"

"Ah, yes, I'll only need it for a second"

"It's closed for cleaning"

When he just stood there Saki took it up a notch, "Did you know that the flow of electrical waves through our body can be compared to the flow of water? Over sixty percent of the human body is made up of water, in other words, if you were to round up, people are water. Many people fail to realize this because of the bodies solid appearance. Water is continuously flowing, yes, it streams thru our veins and all parts of our bodies; the head, the heart, the stomach, the kidneys, the blad-"

Shigure slammed the door shut. Dog:0 Psychic:1

I laughed and turned to help Tohru out with the door, she was asking Arisa what we should have with the new years soba noodles.

"Don't forget fish" I reminded her.

"Yes, and bean sprouts" She smiled.

"Heave ho, heave ho, heave ho! Ah he's gone! Where is he?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Yuki, Kyo and Shigure's editor trying to move a bookcase. It tipped over when Mii let go. I dove for it as it smashed into the door.

"Tiiimber!" I heard Shigure shout from the yard, "lovely, they've smashed the house again."

I rolled over and scowled at the bushes he was hiding in, "It's your own damn fault Shigure! If you would do your work Mii wouldn't be such a mess!"

The boys stared at the wreckage before Kyo jabbed a finger at Yuki, "It's your fault! Your end fell first ya damn rat!"

Yuki turned away from him,"Your eyes must be as weak as your arms stupid cat"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that your end fell first, stupid cat"

"That's it! Lets go!"

Arisa wrapped the duster around Kyo's face again making him groan, "Why does it always gotta be me?"

"Now get off your ass and start cleaning it up"

We almost had the mess totally cleaned up when Mii knocked Kyo off the chair he was using to fix the lights. He went flying right thru the newly fixed door.

"You clumsy idiot!" Arisa wrapped the duster around his face and swung him off the edge of a cliff over the ocean.

Wait, what? I blinked and she was just swinging him around the yard. Maybe I've been using too much chemicals.

While Mii was busy berating Shigure in the kitchen we began fixing the door again. Kyo was sitting on the porch, sulking.

"If you aren't going to help, you could at least get out of the way" Yuki told him

"Shut up, you're the last person I need to hear from"

Deja vu much?

"Hey Tohru, maybe you'd better go on and do your shopping" Arisa told her.

"Shopping!" Shigure appeared out of nowhere, "You'll need someone to carry your things, I'll go too- Ah!"

A lasso caught him, and Mii began dragging him back to his study. "Oh Tohru, I'm sorry, something's come up. You'll have to find someone else to go with you"

********I just shook my head and took her place in fixing the door, "Don't forget dessert ingredients, I'll make new year's cakes."

Yuki went with her. After they were gone and the door was fixed Arisa went to clean another part of the house. I stood and stretched my back, sighing contentedly when it popped.

"Is that healthy?"

I folded my arms behind my head and smirked at Kyo, "Probably not, but it feels good"

He grunted and went back to brooding at the sky. I examined his back for a second before sitting down next to him.

"So, what do you like on your new year's cakes?" I asked.

"Huh? Why?" He looked at me, a small frown turning his lips down.

"So I can make your new year's cakes tonight, Tohru's probably buying everyone's favorite things right now." I cocked my head to the right when his frown only grew, "What's wrong?"

"We're all going back to the main house tonight" He said.

I felt my face fall a little before catching myself, "Oh, well, I guess I should have known. After all, you've got to see your parents right? And I bet Kagura misses you"

I smiled brightly at him and stood, "I'm going to go see if Arisa or Saki need any help"

********I left him sitting there before he could say anything. Damn, why didn't I see this coming? Momiji said something about a new year's feast that all the Zodiac attend. It'll just be me and Tohru and a picture of Kyoko this year. Why did it make me so upset?

Later, after Mii interrupted dinner by bursting into sobs, Tohru and I were washing the dishes. Saki came in with two bowls. She noticed the new year's cakes on the counter.

"Oh, new year's cakes. They look delicious"

I smiled, "You think so? I did my best"

"I do but. . . I have to wonder though, will there be enough for the five of you?" She asked

Tohru smiled, "Oh no, Mandy just made enough for the two of us."

"Shigure and the others are going to the main house, so it'll be the two of us" I dried my hands on a towel as I explained.

Saki just helped us finish the dishes in a contemplative silence. After that, we waved both she and Arisa goodbye from the front porch.


	12. New Years Cakes!

"Oh Tohru, it's awful!" Shigure whined, "Neither one of these two want to go back with me to Sohma house"

Kyo pounded the table with his fist, "Dammit! Quit whining, you're supposed to be an adult!"

Tohru took her place next to me, "Um, you're not going back?"

"What gives?" I asked

"I haven't been to that place in four months, I'm not going to go now just because of some stupid new year's thing!" Kyo told us.

"I had my reasons for leaving home. They'd seem almost meaningless of I went back tonight." Yuki sipped his tea.

"Why do you have to be like this? You've both gone every year before now haven't you?" Shigure turned to us, "You see, new year's is a big night for the Sohma's. It's the one holiday that the entire extended family gets together to celebrate."

"That does sound big!" Tohru marveled.

"Just getting through the introductions can be an event in and of itself." Shigure grabbed his chin, as if thinking. "But I'd have to say, the real highlight of the evening is the Zodiac banquet"

"A banquet?" I grabbed a piece of pickled radish to nibble on, "Like the story?"

"Yes and it's probably the most important part of the Sohma new year's celebration." He smiled, "As the name might imply, only the members of the Zodiac are allowed to attend. The zodiac of the year performs a dance, this year it's Momiji's turn. Ah, but nothing can compare to the beautiful dance Yuki did three years ago."

"I wish I could have seen it!" Tohru clasped her hands under her chin.

Yuki did not take kindly to Shigure mentioning it. He slapped pickled radish across Shigure's face, "I told you never to talk about that!"

I frowned, if only the mmbers of the zodiac were able to attend, what about Kyo? Said cat was scowling at the table like it had insulted him.

"It all sounds so wonderful" Tohru smiled, "Just like the old folk tale!"

"It doesn't matter to me" Kyo finally spoke up, "I mean, it's not like I can actually go to that stupid banquet anyway."

"What? Why not?"

"It's been a long standing rule that the cat isn't allowed to attend" Shigure said, "I suppose that's in keeping with the old folk tale as well"

"So it really is just like the old story. That sucks" I smiled wickedly, "You should crash it"

"I'm sorry" Tohru apologized softly.

"Ah it's nothing you gotta be getting all upset about" Kyo waved away her concern, "I don't care, it's not the reason I'm not going back, if that's what you think"

Shigure leaned over to whisper in our ears, "I think it's because he's afraid he'll get hurt, what with Kagura being so excited to see him."

I snorted, nearly choking on my radish. Tohru just got a look of realization like she hadn't thought of that before.

"SHUT UP!"

Yuki set his cup down, "In any event, if we go back to Sohma house tonight, we'll have to stay until the third, won't we? So for three days we'll be leaving Miss Honda and Miss Cho here all alone" Kyo looked over at us with a surprised expression, "Stupid cat, did you just realize that?"

Kyo lunged, grabbing the front of Yuki's shirt. "Don't call me stupid!"

Yuki sent him a dry look, "Then don't act stupid, stupid"

"Yo!" I got their attention, "Hold in you two"

"Yes, thank you for worrying about us" Tohru smiled softly, "But you don't have to"

"We're big girls" I told them with a grin

"We'll be fine" Tohru said, "It's funny, but just knowing that you're both thinking of us, it makes me so happy, and I want you to be happy. So you should go, enjoy yourselves"

"The whole families supposed to be getting together right?" I wiggled my fingers at them, "Go, see your parents on your family's special night. I'm sure they're all looking forward to seeing you."

Tohru pounded her fist to her chest, "Promise we'll be fine, I'll take great care of the house while you're gone. You're talking to the girl who- AH! The bathwater! I left it running again!" She zoomed out of the room.

I face-palmed, "Great way to inspire confidence Ru, don't worry guys, I'll make sure the house is still standing when you get back. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to make sure she doesn't drown herself in the tub"

Something we said to the boys must have clicked, because when we came back downstairs they had their coats on and were getting ready to go.

"Now remember to look out for crowds" Tohru warned them.

I looked at Kyo, "Be sure to tell Hatori happy new year's for me kay?"

"We'll be fine" Shigure assured her, "There won't be many people out right now"

"You be careful too, be sure to lock all the doors" Yuki told us.

"Okay, be safe!" Tohru waved.

I wrapped an arm around her waist and saluted them, "See ya on the third"

We waved to them until they were out of sight and went back inside.

**_**With Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo (Saki too)**_**

"You know, Mandy always used to leave her window open" Kyo mumbled

"What were you doing in her room?" Yuki asked

"I wasn't!" Kyo snapped, "I saw it from outside!"

"And Miss Honda can be rather careless at times" Yuki sighed, "This morning she tripped down the stairs again"

Kyo looked over at him with a bleak expression on his face, "And she's always bumping into walls and stuff. Clumsy as she is, if there was a way to choke on rice, she'd find it"

"Don't even joke about it"

Shigure turned around, "You two, you sound like a couple of old ladies, the way you worry. Don't get me wrong, I understand your concern for the girls, but you've already made the decision to go back to Sohma house."

Kyo scowled, "Now hold on, who said I was concerned?"

Yuki 'tech'd' and looked away, "Stop talking nonsense, let's go"

Shigure smiled slyly as the passed him before making an 'oh' sound, "Now that I think about it, there was an article in the evening paper about a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood. The culprit is still at large, or so they say."

__Oh great,__Kyo thought__, if a burglar came to the house she'd probably threaten to kick his ass or something.__

__She'd give him a seat at the table and serve tea, __Yuki thought__, and knowing she'd want to hear the burglar's whole life story.__

Shigure rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a goofy smile on his face, "Well let's be on our way, shall we? If you two stand in the middle of the street like that-"

"You'll get run over"

Shigure, being the man he was, screamed like a girl, while Yuki flinched, and Kyo fell over in surprise. Saki just stared at them as her black cloak billowed around her.

"Ah Saki, what a pleasant surprise" Shigure laughed nervously, "Can we help you with something?"

__Why can't she just say hello, like a normal person?__

__Where in the world did she get that cloak?__

"Yes" She said, "Perhaps"

"Are you looking for Tohru, or Amanda, maybe?" Shigure tilted his head like a curious puppy, "They're still at the house, we were just on our way to visit our family"

"I see" Saki turned away dramatically, "Then for them this will truly be a lonely new year's, until now Tohru and her mother have celebrated new year's together with Mandy. But this is the first year since Kyoko's death. This is the first new year's that Tohru will see without her loving mother at her side, and Mandy will surely be sad as well, for Kyoko was just as much her mother."

"Instead, they will have to spend this night alone, with nothing more than each others memories for comfort. I offered to stay with them, but Tohru wouldn't hear of it. She just smiled, and told me I should be with my own family. But what about them? And what family do they have tonight? How will they feel, sitting there by themselves, remembering all of the new year's they spent with Kyoko and will never share again? How will they feel when the new year's bells begin to chime, the same bells, they used to stay up late to hear with Kyoko?"

__How did she feel standing there as we were leaving?, __Yuki wondered.

__When she was smiling and giving her smart ass salute goodbye?, __Kyo thought.

"Do you really think they'll be unaffected by that?" Saki asked, "Do you really think they will be alright?"

__Thunk!__

Shigure stared at them in exasperation as they held their cheek and head, "Do I even want to know what happened?"

"I can explain" Saki told him

"What are you doing? You know Akito's just gonna get pissed!" Kyo held the top of his head in pain.

"Kyo bumped his head, as he was standing up"

Yuki smirked at him, "And what about you? I wouldn't keep Kagura waiting."

"The thing he bumped into was Yuki's right cheek. This happened due to the fact that both of them started moving at the same time. End of commentary"

Shigure watched them bicker as they began walking in the direction they had just come from, "Um, wait a minute, where are you going exactly?"

They turned to glare at him, "I'm going home!"

**_**Back with Mandy (First person)**_**

I sat next to Tohru and examined the picture of Kyoko resting on the table, "Man, this sucks"

Tohru tried to smile brightly at me, notice I said try. "It's not all bad, we still have each other!"

"Tohru" I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into my side, "Sweety, it's okay to cry, you know. I miss her too"

She snuggled into my side and sniffed, "Do you remember when Mom burned the new year's cakes?"

"Yeah, that was when we decided that I would do the baking and you would do the cooking" I smiled fondly at the memory, "She was apologizing for hours after, and then she took us to the roof and we watched the sunrise together"

"Yeah" Tohru sighed, "I wish. . ."

Yeah, I wish too.

There was the sound of the front door slamming open and then the door to the sitting room slammed open. I blinked in shock at the sight of Kyo and Yuki standing there, panting, as if they had run all the way home.

Tohru's voice trembled when she spoke, "Oh it's you. You startled me, but why-"

Yuki reached forward and wiped a tear off her cheek, showing it to her. We glanced at each other before quickly wiping at our faces. Sure enough, my cheeks were damp with tears.

"Oh! No I wasn't crying! Really! It's just-" Tohru began

"It's the holiday season and all" I scrubbed at my eyes, "Seriously, we just got done listening to a sad song and-"

Both boys collapsed, startling Tohru and I. I knelt over Kyo while she worried over Yuki.

"Jeez, are you okay?" I asked quickly

"What's wrong?" Tohru panicked

"We have to see the first sunrise" Yuki told her.

"Yeah" Kyo huffed, "And I wanna have some more of those new year's soba noodles."

I couldn't help it, I cried just a little. They had come back, just to spend new year's with us.

"I'm home"

. . . _Short time skip_. . .

"So, you talked to Hana?" Tohru asked Yuki

He smiled at her, "We sort of ran into her on the way"

I arched an eyebrow at Kyo, "She scared the crap outta you didn't she?"

"No!" Kyo scowled when I laughed, "Shut up!"

I grinned and stared at the star's, sending warm feelings to my psychic friend. I loved that girl, black fingernail polish and all.

"But, uh, are you sure this is okay? What's the rest of your family gonna think?" Tohru worried, "They won't mind that you stayed here will they? I don't want you to get in any trouble over us"

I just elbowed Kyo and teased, "Kagura's going to pulverize you the next time she sees her 'Beloved'"

"It's no trouble" Yuki reassured her, "We'll just go back sometime before the third and visit with everyone"

"Oh, okay" Tohru said, "Hey look! The sun's coming up!" she stood

I stood and put a hand on her arm to keep her up, "Have you guys decided what to wish for yet? Mine's locked and loaded"

Kyo jumped to his feet, "This year I'm gonna beat that damn rat!"

"Ah, you're wishing aren't you?"

I grinned and folded my arms behind my head. Here's to hoping for a wonderful year with the Sohma's. God knows we'll need all the luck we can get.


	13. The Endurance run and a cow?

Winter break is over, and the third trimester of school has started. Another "Ef you!" from father time I guess. Damn that old bastard. Oops, I'm rambling aren't I? Well, we were out shopping, and Yuki, Kyo, and I were waiting outside for Tohru. I was watching the two go at it again. Well, Kyo was trying, and Yuki was dismissing him, which only pissed him off more.

"Wipe that smug little smirk off your face before I come over there and do it for ya! Yeah, you'll be sorry then, wont'cha, and I'll make you say it"

"I'm sorry"

"SHUT UP!" Kyo shouted, "You're a real wise ass you know that?"

Yuki, calm as ever, only said. "At least I'm not the noisy idiot causing a scene in front of the store"

Kyo pushed his sleeves up, "Oh you've done it now girly-boy, we're taking this outside!"

"We are already outside you stupid cat"

I face-palmed, "Alright you two, that's enough"

"He started it!" they both said

"I don't care who started it! I'm finishing it dammit!"

"Sorry I took so long!" Tohru walked out of the store.

Yuki turned to her and smiled as though nothing had happened, "Ah, did you get everything you needed?"

"Um" She glanced at me and Kyo, who was panting in anger. "Uh-huh"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Good, that means we can go home. People are staring"

The walk home was filled with Kyo and Yuki's bickering. It seemed worse than ever, Tohru and I had made a joined wish that they would get along better, or at least quit sniping at each other every time they cross paths. Look's like that wish fell flat.

"You know, you are starting to really get on my nerves" Yuki stopped walking and glared at Kyo.

Kyo put his things down and held his fist's up in challenge, "Oh yeah? So why don't you try and do something about it girly-boy - ack!"

Well, Yuki did the one surefire thing to shut Kyo up, he stuffed the leek's Tohru had bought right into his mouth. Eugh, that made me want to gag.

"Ah Kyo!" Tohru cried.

"There, that should keep him quiet for a little while" Yuki coughed.

I looked up from helping Kyo spit out the leeks, hadn't Tohru told me that he had asthma? This cold weather probably wasn't doing him any good.

"C'mon" I patted Kyo's back one last time, "Lets get home"

Later back at the house, Yuki, Tohru and I all sat around the table drinking tea. Shigure came in with a towel draped over his head.

"Hey! I'm out of the tub, who's next? Yuki?"

"No, I think I'll skip"

"Ooo!" Shigure squealed, "How can you stand to be so dirty?"

Yuki sighed, "Just once I'd like to knock him through the roof"

"S'matter?" I frowned, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Well, no. I think I'm coming down with a cold"

"A cold!" Tohru jumped up to feel his forehead, "You do have a little bit of a fever"

Shigure began rummaging through the cupboard under the TV. "Well, it's best to catch these things early, take some medicine, get some rest, all that. I think I have just the thing here"

"Maybe you should stay home tomorrow" I sipped my tea, "Give your body a chance to fight it off"

"No I'm alright" Yuki sighed, "It won't have to come to that"

"Are you sure?" Tohru asked, "We are supposed to do our endurance run"

"Oh, so they still have those" Shigure was still searching for the medicine, "Almost seems cruel, making you kids run around in the cold."

The door behind us slammed open, I jumped, banging my knee on the table. Cursing, I turned to chew out Kyo, but the look on his face was faintly demonic. "An endurance run, huh?"

"Yes, you mean you didn't know" Tohru asked him.

"The endurance run. A set distance, a certain time to beat"

Uh-oh, I could see where this was going. I let my head bang to the table and held up three fingers, "Three. . . two. . . one"

"In other words. . . IT'S A RACE!" Kyo stood over Yuki and pointed down at him, "Alright rat-boy, tomorrow we're going to find out who's the fastest"

"It never ends" I sighed

"Um, Kyo, Yuki's starting to come down with a cold" Tohru tried to reason.

Kyo's demonic face never wavered, "So you better give him something to eat and put him to bed, he's not getting out of this one"

Shigure held up a box of chewable tablets, "Here, take one of these. All joking aside, if you strain your body too much you'll transform, don't over do it"

"I know" Yuki told him.

I stood and stretched, "I'm going to bed, I hate running. Just thinking about it makes me tired"

"Oh!" Tohru smiled warmly, "Goodnight. I'll be up in a bit"

"Kay" I waved

. . . _The next day_. . .

"You gotta admit, Yuki sure is hot"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh please Rina, should I let the Prince Yuki fan club know they've got a new member?"

Rina Yamamoto was a senior, this was her free period, so she came to visit sometimes. She was one of the only girls in this school I can stand.

"God no" She winced, watching me stretch. "Jeez Amanda, even I can't bend like that"

I was currently stretching for the endurance run, she was talking about how I was doing the splits while bending back to grab my ankle. "It's not that hard, I just practice for ten minutes a day before bed, and I'm as limber as a wet noodle"

She smirked, "Who you staying limber for? Carrot-top over there? You know, he's almost as cute as his cousin"

Her statement caused me to jerk, choking, to the side. "God dammit Rina! Get outta here!"

She laughed at my now tomato red face and took off for the school building before I could get on my feet to strangle her. Sometimes that girl made me want to beat her. I stood and wiped my but off, just as the gym teacher blew his whistle, signaling the girls to head up first.

I trotted up past Kyo, giving him a pat on the back, before going over to Saki and Tohru. "Arisa skipping?"

"Yes" Tohru smiled, "Let's do our best today for Uo!"

"Alright" Saki nodded, "I've never been any good at running, but since you asked I will do my try my hardest."

"Okay! On your marks!" The gym teacher held up a sound gun, "Get set!"

__Bang!__

I began jogging, rolling my eyes when Saki collapsed to the ground. She really was a good actress, she should do a play or something. Tohru actually fell for her act, which only made me shake my head. Not long through the course, I was beginning to fall behind. I did mention I hated to run right?

A flash of white caught my attention, I looked down the grassy slope I was running by and paused. Someone with white hair was sitting near the bridge. Who had white hair? An old man? With that thought I began to descend, half sliding half jogging.

"Hey! Sir, are you-" I cut off when he turned to face me, that was definitely not an old man.

In fact, he was extremely cute. The top half of his hair was white while the bottom half was black, and he wore a white trench coat with fur along the part by his head. He wore black and white gloves and black pants with biker boots.

Thankfully, I managed to stop myself before I plowed into him. He looked at me with a slightly dazed look on his face, like I had broken him out of a daydream.

"I'm sorry" I apologized, "I thought you were an old man, and that you might be in trouble. Are you lost?"

"Mandy!"

I looked up at the top of the hill and waved at Tohru, she took that as an invitation to jog down. I caught her as she almost slip past us.

"Hey. . . do you know where the Sohma family lives?" Biker boy asked.

"Huh?" Tohru seemed surprised at the question.

"Does that mean you're a Sohma?" I asked, looks like we've managed to find another one.

"That's right" He nodded, "Do you know them?"

"Y-yes!" Tohru bowed, "Pleased to meet you, I'm Tohru. . ."

She was interrupted by the sound of faint shouting. I rubbed my forehead, yup, the boys had caught up to us alright.

"Oh. . ." Biker boy stood, "I hear voices, they're running this way"

Tohru and I followed him up the the road where the guys were running up. Then he did something that had my jaw dropping, he tied a string to a post across the road and let it lay limply on the asphalt. Tohru crouched next to him, a curious expression on her face.

"Um, what are you doing-" She began to ask.

I cut her off with a yelp as Kyo tried to run past. His foot caught on the suddenly taught string, sending him face first into the asphalt.

"Got him"

I hurried to Kyo and knelt next to him, "Holy crap! Kyo, are you okay?"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" Kyo shouted at me, "RIGHT WHEN I HAD PASSED YUKI!-"

"I had no choice. You wouldn't have stopped any other way" Biker Boy said.

"Haru?" Yuki looked at the newcomer with surprise.

"Doing this is very dangerous. Anyone other than Kyo wouldn't have gotten away with just a scrape" Biker boy looked over his shoulder, "So please, don't try this at home"

"You shouldn't have tried it either!" Kyo shouted, "Who are you talking to anyway?!"

I pulled out my handkerchief as Kyo railed at him, he was bleeding right in the center of his forehead.

Yuki spoke over Kyo's howls, "So this time it's Haru. They just keep coming. Shouldn't you be in school? You have entrance exams this year"

Kyo began shouting again when Biker boy ignored him, "Wait a damn minute! Show a little concern! I'm bleedin' here!"

I rolled my eyes and began wiping at the blood on his face, he winced every now and then, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was listening to the others talk.

"Ah" Biker boy got a dazed look, "I set out on Sunday and found myself in an unfamiliar town, next thing I know, three days had passed. A mystery. . ."

What an interesting way to say he got lost, I handed Kyo the cloth and went to stand next to Tohru and Yuki.

"Just say it." Yuki sighed, "You got lost"

"So you still have no sense of direction" Kyo grumbled, "That means you haven't had a bath in three days"

I poked his side to silence him, causing him to twitch and glare at me. Oh, did someone have a tickle spot? I'd have to investigate that later.

"What a wonderful way of getting lost!" Tohru gasped.

I laughed lightly before gesturing to the spot underneath the bridge, "We should probably get out of sight. Sensei would have a fit if he saw us slacking off"

Kyo grumbled something about 'Not having a choice' and 'Stupid kids'.

"Yeah. . .you're right" Yuki gestured to me and Tohru, "This is Hatsuharu Sohma, he's a year younger than we are. He's a third year in middle school. Haru, this is Tohru Honda and Amanda Cho"

Hatsuharu Sohma. Wow, that's a mouthful. I think I'll just call him Haru, like Yuki and Kyo.

"Oh, I see." Haru bowed politely, "Pleased to meet you"

Surprised, Tohru and I bowed back. "Ah! No, the pleasure is mine!"

"Nice to meet you"

We all moved to the spot I had pointed out earlier, under the bridge. I stood a little bit away from Kyo, watching Haru curiously. He seemed like a nice kid, not like any of the other eighth or ninth graders I've seen before-

"Well, what do you want?" Kyo asked bluntly.

"A fight"

I slumped, never mind.

"Huh?"

"I wanted to challenge you at new year's but you skipped out. So I came to find you" He grabbed the front of Kyo's shirt, "Kay?"

"W-wait a minute! I'm in the middle of an important race!"

I shook my head as they argued. Do all the Sohma's know martial arts or something? I was beginning to think so.

"This. . . could be bad" Yuki coughed into his hand, "Hey Kyo? I think you should do what Haru wants. . ."

Kyo turned away from Haru, "Look, I said I won't and I won't! Just go home-"

I skittered back a few steps in shock when Haru headbutted Kyo in the back of the neck. Kyo fell to the ground, clutching the back of his head and spitting out obscenities.

"Too late" Yuki sighed

"Blahdy blah blah! Enough with your damn yapping!" Haru jabbed his thumb to himself, "A real man answers a challenge. But then, you're just a kitten. ****Time to********die!****"

"No! Don't die!" Tohru yelped from behind me.

I was speechless in horror, what happened to the polite fifteen year old just now? His mood just did a total one eighty! Now he was just like some delinquent, laughing crazily.

"You. . ." Kyo spun in a kick, "DAMN BRAT!"

"Great, he's awakened Black Haru" Yuki sighed again.

"Buh-buh-buh" Tohru stuttered

"Normally, Haru is a bit of a pushover. But once he's snapped, he becomes an unstoppable juggernaut." Yuki explained, "His relatives call his dark side 'Black Haru'"

"Um, does that mean he's the same type as Kagura?" Tohru asked

"No. . ."

Suddenly Haru was standing in front of Yuki, caressing his chin. "Don't just stand there Yuki, today, you will be ****mine****"

"He's much worse than Kagura"

"Is that possible?" I was a little creeped out by what Haru had said to Yuki. But who was I to judge a guy by his choices?

"Get up Kyo!"

"I am up! What are you doing?"

"Miss Honda, Miss Cho. This looks like it could take a while." Yuki told us, " Why don't you go on ahead"

Tohru may have said something, but I was just close enough to hear what Haru and Kyo were saying.

"When did you become such a pansy Kyo?" Haru asked

"Your black side really sucks, you know that?" Kyo growled.

"****Oh yeah? ****If you keep putting me off, I'll just take out all my frustrations on your little girlfriend over there. You know, the one with the green hair?"

I resisted the urge to run screaming for the hills. Who the hell did this kid think he was? Instead I backed up until I was on the other side of Yuki, as far away from Haru as I could get. Which meant I didn't hear what he said next, but, what ever it was, it set Kyo off.

"BRING IT ON YOU DAMN KID! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"K-Kyo!" Tohru gasped

I shook my head, "You know what? I give up. All you Sohma men seem to do is fight"

"Really, this will take a while" Yuki said, "You should go on ahead"

"B-but. . ." Tohru glanced at the rat, "Shouldn't we stop them?"

"I'd rather die" Yuki told her bluntly.

"O-oh"

The fighting escalated until they were screaming death threats at each other, and Kyo was beating the pulp out of Haru. But it was like the kid wasn't even feeling it.

"You know, compared to when he's fighting you, Kyo looks a lot stronger" I rested my elbows on my crossed legs and held my head up with closed fists.

"Well, yes, Kyo probably is stronger against Haru" Yuki admitted, "But that doesn't change the fact that he's still a fight obsessed moron. They're both like that, devoting so much of their lives to studying martial arts"

"Ah ha ha" Tohru laughed and turned to face him with a smile, "Didn't you like studying martial arts, Yuki?"

Yuki seemed to actually think about her question, but before he could answer he began choking and wheezing. I cursed when he collapsed onto his side.

"Yuki? Yuki? What's wrong?" Tohru's hands fluttered around like she wanted to help, but didn't have any idea how to.

Haru knelt between us, "Yuki? Is it an attack?""

Oh shit, his bronchial tubes. And he's got a cold, I knew he should have stayed home today. I glanced at Tohru and knew she was thinking the same thing.

"He's got a fever. You've got to be more careful when you have a cold" Haru handed Tohru his jacket before standing up, "I'll call the main house"

Yuki reached out and grasped his ankle, wheezing heavily. Haru turned to look down at him, "You don't want me to call the main house, do you? Kyo, you don't mind if we postpone our fight do you?"

"Huh? Oh" Kyo turned away with his hands on his hips, "Sheesh, I guess we'll have to postpone our race too. What an idiot, getting done in by a cold"

"Well, should we go to Sensei's house?" Haru asked

"I'd call a taxi" I stood and blew my bangs out of my face, "But don't you all transform if you get too weak?"

"Yeah" Haru nodded, "And his attacks get worse when he's in rat form"

"I'll help! I'll do anything!" Tohru was nearly in tears.

Haru looked her over, "You're pretty cute. I think I ****will ****use your help. As long as I have to hug someone, they might as well be cute"

"Eeeek!" Tohru squealed when Haru pulled her into a hug.

Then he transformed into a cow. Oh, so he was the Ox in the story. I helped Tohru up and gestured to Yuki, "You put him on Haru's back, hurry, so we can get him home!"

Kyo glared at Yuki's prone form, "Why's it gotta be me!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it obvious? Haru was the only other male here, and if Tohru and I try to pick him up he'll transform. Weren't you listening? His attacks get worse in his other form"

Kyo grumbled, but did as I said. I wrapped my arms around Haru's neck, "Sorry Haru, but this way you won't transform back on the way home"

"It's okay, you're cute too. I like the hair"

I rolled my eyes, "What ever, let's just get Yuki back so we can call Hatori"

The walk home was fairly awkward. We had children trailing after us and adults giving us strange looks from the sidewalk. I felt like a farm girl in a tracksuit.

"He he he" Shigure giggled, "So that explains it. What a noble steed- I mean steer! Hee Hee!"

"That's not funny!" Kyo grumbled.

"He's a cow. . . a cow! It's funny!" Shigure snickered.

I rolled my eyes and walked past them all to get Yuki's room ready. Somehow Haru was able to get up the stair so we could move Yuki to his bed.

"He's sleeping soundly, it was just a light attack. But it's been awhile since he's had one" Shigure told us, "He has a fever, but he'll be fine"

I patted Tohru's head when she sighed in relief, "That's good. He had us all worried"

"I'm sorry Tohru, Amanda, you can go back to school now" Shigure turned to us.

"No, I'll stay with him!" Tohru shook her head, "School is important, but I don't want to go if it means abandoning a person in need. A-and colds are dangerous, we shouldn't underestimate them. I'm sure mom would have said the same"

I shrugged, "I wouldn't really be able to concentrate if I went back to school. And running really isn't my thing"

"Then should I go get your school things?" He asked us

I felt my eye twitch at the chirpy tone his voice took, he just wanted to get a glimpse of the girls at the school.

"N-no! Please don't go to any trouble!"

"Oh it's fine, don't worry about it" Shigure waved away her worry with a smile, "Kyo, call Hari."

"Whaaaat! Why should I?" Kyo grouched

"Hari is really stressed out, so be careful. It seems there's an epidemic of influenza at the main house"

"So what?"

That was when Haru changed back, Tohru and I both planted our faces against the wall of Yuki's room. I was really gonna have to get used to this. . . yeah, that ain't gonna happen.

"I'll call him" Haru began walking out of the room, "Where's the phone?"

"Put on some clothes!" Kyo shouted.

"You know what?" I turned to face Shigure, "I'll go back with you to the school, will you be alright here with Haru and Yuki, Tohru?"

She nodded, "Oh yes! I'll be fine, go ahead and tell Hana I went home early, okay?"

I nodded and followed Shigure out of the house. Halfway back to the school, Kyo joined us. I elbowed him lightly, "What made you change your mind?"

"That damn brat! He went and changed back to normal when no one was looking!" Kyo scowled fiercely.

I giggled, "I guess that means that your fight was canceled, huh?"

"Dammit!" He shouted, "And the stupid rat had to go and get sick too! I was winning that race too! Aaagh!"

"Rawer" I fake growled at him, "Kitties angry"

"THAT IS NOT FUNNY!"

When we all got to school, we found the remnants of our classmates sitting around Saki playing cards. Even our gym teacher was playing. We ended up joining them, playing old maid until school got out.

Funny enough we all ended up sick after we got home.


	14. Valentines Day and a Hot Spring Surprise

It was valentines day, and the school was overflowing with chocolates and love. God did that sound cheesy, anyway . . . Arisa, Saki, Tohru, Yuki, and I were gathered right outside of his locker. Arisa was poking around inside it, looking for chocolates.

"What in the hell?" Arisa said in surprise.

"There is only one" Saki told me.

"What?" I poked my head between them, sure enough there was only one chocolate. "That's a let down"

"Yeah, weird, huh?" Arisa groused, "I figured the princes locker would have been the best place to try"

"Um, try for what, exactly?" Yuki asked.

"You know, it happens in the cartoons" Arisa leaned against the lockers, "That thing, when you open the door, and all the chocolates go pouring out?"

I stifled a laugh at the bleak expression on his face and patted his arm in sympathy. "Ah don't worry Yuki, she's just messing with you"

"I see now" Saki spoke up, "Cuckoo chicks. The girls who all visited this locker were cuckoo chicks"

****"****Cuckoo chicks?" The rest of us echoed.

Weren't those the birds that lay their eggs in another bird's nest? "Wanna elaborate Saki?"

"You see, just like the cuckoo chick pushes another bird's egg out of the nest, these girls threw out any chocolates that were already here so that their chocolates would get more attention." She pointed at the trashcan in the hallway, "The proof is in the garbage can"

"Oh! It's full of chocolates!" Tohru gasped.

I whistled, the thing was overflowing with candy. "Damn, they couldn't have left them in your locker? What a waist"

"Dammit, they messed up my locker trick" Arisa sighed.

"And I am the hawk who swoops down to capture the chocolates that were pushed from the nest" Saki plucked a package from the top of the can.

I shrugged and grabbed a heart shaped box, "Want not waste not"

" Alright, you go girls" Arisa chuckled.

"Um, but wait. That belongs to Yuki right?"

"It's okay"

On the way to class we say Kyo, I brushed my now blonde bangs out of my face and waved hello. I figured I'd give my hair a rest form all the weird colors for a while, and then start back up again.

"Hey" He greeted back.

Then he caught sight of Yuki, who just stared back as Kyo glared. There was a few tense seconds before Kyo punched the wall beside Yuki and walked on. I watched him walk away and sighed, what on earth was eating him?

"That guy's been itching for a fight all morning" Arisa murmured.

Nobody said anything as we followed the enraged cat to our classroom, I leaned against the window with the girls while Yuki and Kyo took their seats. Evil cackling caught my attention, it was Yuki fan girls. They were watching Yuki with a predatory gleam in their eyes.

"Damn those fan club girls look scary today" Arisa crossed her arms over her stomach, "They're either about to mug him or eat him, I can't tell which"

I snorted into my hands, as long as they didn't try to hug him, there wouldn't be an issue. I guess valentines day was pretty hard on the members of the zodiac, it was a day they probably had to try extra hard to avoid any accidents.

"Oh! I almost forgot! These are for you!" Tohru held out her chocolates for Saki and Arisa, which reminded me of the ones I had for them.

"Here you go" I smiled.

"Hey, I still owe you two from last year!"

"Thank you very much, what would you like in return?" Saki asked

Tohru shook her head in denial, "Oh no, you don't have to worry about getting me anything! I just wanted to thank you both for always being there for me. I gave Mandy hers this morning"

I had no such qualms in receiving gifts, and I told them so. "I like dark chocolate"

"Kyo-Kyo, here, I got you some chocolates!" I heard a girl say

I turned in time to see a girl give Kyo some chocolates. Tohru noticed it too, "Looks like Kyo has an admirer"

"Mr. Popularity" Arisa snorted, "She called him Kyo-Kyo. Are you guys going to give them chocolates?"

I nodded, "Mhm, they're at home. We wanted to give some to Shigure too, but that doesn't necessarily accept them"

Across the room, Kyo was having problems. "Is. . . today. . . Valentines day?"

"Huh? Don't you own a calendar?"

****"I'm going home"****

I raised an eyebrow when he stood up and began mumbling to himself about it being too dangerous to go home, and that he needed to take a nice long journey. He made to go out the door, but ended up getting smacked in the face by our homeroom teacher, Mayuko-Sensei.

"Are you trying to cut out on homeroom? Punk" She smirked down at him.

"Sensei" Kyo clutched his nose, "Why you meddling. . ."

"Oooh. What makes you think you can talk to me like that Orangey?" Mayuko-Sensei got an evil look in her eyes, "I'm ready to dye your hair black any time, with this 'Lets dye you hair!'" She pulled out a box of black hair dye.

"Uh, where the hell did she get that?" I scratched my head

"Don't push your luck Cho" She slanted me a look, "I tolerate your random hair colors. I could always just dye your whole head black with Orangey here"

I hid behind Arisa, "No thank you Sensei"

"Good, now that we've all come to an understanding. Sit down and behave!"

"Yes ma'am"

Man, that woman is scary. I slid into my desk behind Kyo and began doodling in my notebook, I had a feeling I knew what he was so terrified of. If today was valentine's day, the Kagura would probably be over to visit.

My suspicions were proven correct, Kagura was waiting for us when we got out of school. I suddenly felt bad for Kyo, he was so doomed.

"K-Kyo?"

Kyo's face paled and he made to run, but he wasn't fast enough. Kagura spun around, a large happy smile on her face.

"Ah! Kyo!" She began walking towards us, "Kyo! Darling!"

That's when all hell broke loose, "MY LOVE!"

"Aw hell! She's here!" Kyo began running for his life.

I smothered a laugh, "Poor Kyo, and poor Kagura"

"I knew it" Yuki muttered,

"He just didn't want to see Kagura" Tohru's face was one of realization.

The walk home was quieter than one would think. Tohru, Kagura, and I spent the whole time chatting and ignoring a fuming Kyo. He didn't start mouthing off until we got home.

"Why the hell are you even here?" Kyo asked

"I'm here for valentines silly" She told him, "It's a very important day for lovers to be together"

"You're not going to find any lover in this house" Kyo mumbled.

"Kyo behave please. I don't want the house getting, you know, smashed"

I chuckled at Shigure's reasoning, "Yeah Kyo, didn't she break the door with your face last time?"

"Dammit! I should have left on that journey sooner! How was I supposed to know that today was valentine's?"

"It's called a calendar" Yuki sighed.

"So, did you give him chocolates?" Shigure asked her.

"Well yeah, I tried. But for some reason he just won't take them from me, watch" She pulled out a giant chocolate heart and shoved it at him, "Happy valentine's day Kyo! A chocolate heart stuffed full with all of my love! Just for you!"

"Keep it!" Kyo shouted, "What man in his right mind would eat that sugery girly crap!"

I frowned, well there goes my present to him. I noticed Tohru enter the room and stood to join her, she had gone upstairs to grab our gifts.

"I'm sorry, but, do you really not like chocolate Kyo?" She asked him.

"No! I hate it!"

Kagura got a demonic look on her face, "Shut up and eat it. Did you hear me? I said eat it damn you!"

"No means no woman!"

"Eat it!"

"No!"

"Eat!"

"Never!"

"Eat it!"

"You'll have to Kill me first!"

"Tohru, I don't suppose those are chocolates you're hiding behind your back" Shigure asked

I laughed sheepishly, "We, um, we sort of made them for you guys, for everyone really"

"I guess we forgot to ask if everyone likes chocolate, you know, silly me!" Tohru pulled the bag out from behind her.

"Silly us" I scratched my cheek, slightly embarrassed.

"Miss Honda, Miss Cho" Yuki smiled warmly at us, "I would love some chocolate"

Tohru blushed and began handing out her portion of the chocolates, "Here's yours! And this one is for Shigure"

I reached into the bag and pulled out my portion for the people around me. "Here you are Yuki, Shigure'

"Oh really, for me?" Shigure simpered

"They did say for everyone" Yuki said.

"It's not much, but we just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for us" I held the orange box in my hand behind my back.

"Oh no no! I should be the one thanking you two!" Shigure began to fake cry, "Still, I'm touched. Tohru and Amanda's valentine chocolates, how they warm the heart and lift the soul!"

I grinned at his theatrics and pulled out the two boxes from me and Tohru to Kagura, "We made some for you too Kagura!"

" Oh! One for me!" She glomped us in a huge hug, "Thank you!"

I laughed and patted her head, "We also made some for Haru, Hatori, and Momiji"

Tohru stacked the boxes on the table, "We didn't know if we'd see them today, but I hope there's some way we can give these to him"

"You really did mean everyone, didn't you?" Yuki asked in quiet awe.

Tohru grinned, "Well, they were so cute, and I had so much fun wrapping them! I guess I got a little carried away." Her smile fell, "Oh, but I suppose I should have asked first if they even liked chocolate"

I sat down and hid Kyo's chocolate box in my lap, "They do like chocolate, don't they?"

"Oh, don't let what Kyo said bother you. He thinks he's being manly, but really, he doesn't have a clue what true manliness is. A real man would have eaten the chocolate without all of this fuss"

I glanced over at Kyo as Shigure spoke, this was talk that was meant to set the cat off. I could have sworn I saw steam emanating from the top of Kyo's head.

"To refuse a gift, to trample on another person's heart like that, it falls short of being a human being, let alone a man"

Tohru held up her hands in a gesture of peace, "Oh no, I should have known better than to get just chocolate, like; Fist crackers, or Thunder rice cakes, or, I don't know, something more masculine sounding that he would have liked"

"Those sound delicious. . . too"

"Fine" Kyo growled, "I just gotta eat it? So. . . I'LL EAT IT!"

I watched, open mouthed, as Kyo chomped away Kagura's chocolate heart (Kagura: Goodie! Look! Kyo's eating my chocolates!). He finished it so fast, I was afraid he was going to give himself a stomach ache.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

He was still chewing, so he only held his hand out to Tohru and I. We stared at his hand for a few seconds before realizing what it was he wanted.

I laughed lightly and put the orange box in his hand, "Just don't give yourself a stomach ache, it wouldn't be very manly to barf it all up"

~LINE BREAK~

After valentine's day, the whole next month went by like a blur, and before I knew it, exams were over and I could finally relax. I dropped my pencil and stretched towards the ceiling, smiling in satisfaction when I felt my spine pop.

I saw Yuki walk over to Tohru and decided to join them, just in time to hear Tohru say how she did well on her test.

"That's great Ru!" I poked her nose, "All that studying paid off!"

"What? So you did good?" Arisa rubbed Tohru's head affectionately, "I'm so proud of you"

Saki rested her hand on Tohru's shoulder, "See Tohru? I knew you could do it of you tried"

"Well, fortunately, I had Yuki there to help me study! He always took his time to explain things clearly, even though he had his own work to do" Tohru turned to Yuki,

"Really. Thank you so much! I couldn't have done it without you"

Yuki smiled warmly at her, "Oh, come on, I didn't do that much"

"You helped me too" I playfully elbowed him, "So thanks a bunch"

There was a small commotion from the Fan club girls, but a glare from Saki had them quieting down really quick. It came in handy, having a psychic friend.

A couple of boys called over to Saki, "Hey Hanajima! I bet you did great!"

"Really?" Saki asked

"Yeah well, you sure look smart, and people say you can sense waves or something. How did you do on last semesters finals?"

"Lets see. . . I think" Saki seemed to be staring into space, "I had to take supplementary lessons every day and my parents were called in for conferences. Yes, mother was crying."

"That's. . . I mean. . ."

"What about your sixth sense?"

"A sixth sense cannot make up for a total lack of common sense"

"Don't get too down on yourself," Arisa comforted her, "I'm sure there's an even bigger dummy around here somewhere"

"Hey! You sure as hell better not be talking about me!"

"Kyo" I held up my hands in a gesture of peace, "I'm sure she didn't mean you-"

"What? Who else would I be talking about?" Arisa leaned over him in his chair.

I face-palmed, "Never mind"

"Oh yeah! Well, no ones ever had to call my parents to tell them my grades sucked!" If Kyo had cat ears and a tail, they'd be bristling in indignation.

"Awe, does Kyo-Kyo study like a good little boy?"

"Don't call me Kyo-Kyo!"

"Oh please, you couldn't study to save your life" Arisa teased.

"You are so full of it!" Kyo shouted.

"Uh-huh, let me guess. You're the kind of guy who crams at the last minute, then you get to school and freak out because you studied for the wrong test!" Arisa guessed.

"You know" Tohru turned to Yuki, "Lately, when he shut himself in his room, he really has been studying hard"

"So it would seem" Yuki said

I watched, fully amused, as Kyo and Arisa verbally abused each other. He had been studying hard, if I hadn't brought his meals up to his room, he probably would have starved. The boy had actually looked peaceful, sitting at his desk and studying. It had been quiet around the house for once. But I guess he needed some activity, if his arguing with Arisa was anything to go by.

"Honda! Cho!" Mayuko-Sensei called us.

I shared a glance with Tohru before following our teacher into the hallway.

"What's up Sensei?"I asked.

"It's come to my attention that you two haven't paid last month's deposit for the class trip"

Tohru slumped, and I rubbed my hand over my face. "I'm sorry! We'll be sure to pay both deposits this month!"

Mayuko-Sensei waved away our apologies, "Don't worry about it! I just wanted to remind you"

When we got back Yuki asked us if anything was wrong. Tohru perked up, "That is. . . uh. . . I've got to work hard! Go work go! Woo!"

I just groaned and rubbed a hand over my face. Hello extra hours at the Cafe. Dammit. Oh well, it was worth it to see everyone's faces when they got their chocolates.

Later, after work, I was exhausted. It was a little after eleven, which meant that everyone would be either in bed or relaxing under the kotatsu. Lucky bastards. I untied my apron from my waist with fumbling fingers and pulled on my black pullover sweater. As I was leaving the building arms wrapped around my waist.

"Mandy!"

"M-momiji?"

I looked down over my shoulder at the boy. He was beaming happily, the only part of his body touching mine was his arms.

"Hey you little brat! Be more careful!" Kyo growled, looking around pensively.

"Kyo? You came to pick me up?" I asked dumbly. You have to remember, it was after eleven, and I wanted to sleep.

"Yeah, now lets get going!"

I followed after him with Momiji clinging to my right hand. As we were walking Momiji chattered happily about random things, like going to help Tohru at work, and about a surprise.

"What surprise?" I asked.

Momiji swung our hands back and forth, "I already told Tohru, so I guess I can tell you. . ."

A fist descended on his head, "Just tell her you damn brat"

"Waaa! Mandy! Kyo hit me!"

"Kyo" I scolded lightly before dipping to kiss the top of the bunnies head, "There, all better. So what's this about a surprise?"

Momiji beamed while Kyo sulked, "Well, I'm taking you and Tohru to a Sohma hot springs! Yuki's coming too!"

"Kyo" I scolded lightly before dipping to kiss the top of the bunnies head, "There, all better. So what's this about a surprise?"

Momiji beamed while Kyo sulked, "Well, I'm taking you and Tohru to a Sohma hot springs! Yuki's coming too!"

"A. . . hot springs?" I stumbled, forcing my tired brain to accept what he just said. "I. . . don't know what to say"

"Say yes! Tohru did!" Momiji bounced around and took my other hand so he was holding both, "Please! Please! Please!"

I smiled warmly at him, "How can I say no to that? Thank you Miji!"

Momiji shouted in victory and launched himself into my arms. I stumbled and stared down in surprise at the rabbit in my hands. Kyo cursed and began gathering up Momiji's clothes.

"Are you stupid! You're just lucky we're almost home!" Kyo ranted.

"Kyo's scaring me!" Momiji cried.

I shushed him lightly, "Kyo may sound mean and growly, but you know he'd never __really __hurt you."

Kyo harrumphed, "That's what you think"

It was quiet except for Kyo's grumbling, then something Momiji said clicked in my tired brain. "Wait, Miji, you said Yuki's going. . ."

"Yup!"

"But. . ." I glanced at our orange haired companion, "What about Kyo?"

Momiji pouted, "Kyo's being a sourpuss. He says he doesn't want to go!"

"Damn strait! If that damn Yuki's going, then I definitely don't want to go!" Kyo scowled, somehow, his protest didn't sound very convincing.

I puckered my lips in a pout before shrugging. If he doesn't want to go, there isn't really much I can do about it. Though, it would be more fun if he went. Without him, it would probably be a little too quiet.

Shigure was waiting up when we got home. I waved tiredly and left Momiji with him before going into the kitchen for some left overs. Kyo followed me and leaned against the counter.

"Your mom called earlier"

I shot up, hitting my head on the shelf of the fridge in the process, "Owowowowow! What? How'd she get this number?"

"How the hell should I know?" Kyo folded his arms, "She said the school called her, you didn't pay last month's charge for the class trip."

I rubbed a hand over my face, peaking at Kyo through my fingers. "I already told Mayuko-Sensei that I'd pay it with this month's installment."

"You shouldn't have bought us anything if it was going to cause you any trouble!"

I flushed, "It didn't cause me and trouble! I got you the candy because I wanted to. It's not an issue."

"What do mean it's not an issue!-" Kyo started to shout, and then cut himself off. "What ever. I'm going to bed, don't stay up too late"

I sighed as he left, really, what was his problem? I left the kitchen not long after. Shigure was still sitting at the table.

"Not going to eat?" He asked.

"Not hungry" I mumbled, then I noticed a missing rabbit. "Where's Momiji?"

"He went to bed" He looked me over, "And so should you before you fall on your face"

"M'kay" I said

But instead of going straight to bed I stopped by Kyo's room. He seemed sort of pissed before he went up stairs, and I didn't want a fight to be our goodnight. I knocked and waited for his answer. But when he did, I was stunned. He was shirtless, in a pair of plaid drawstring pajama bottoms.

"What?" He asked.

I felt the my cheeks heat up, probably turning my face into a beacon. "Ah-um-uh. . . Goodnight!" I squeaked before running for mine and Tohru's bedroom.

I jumped into bed and buried my face in my pillows. Holy crap. When the hell did he get __those __muscles? Argh! Bad Mandy! Go to bed!

After last night's embarrassing little encounter with Kyo, I had made myself busy around the house. Dusting, sweeping, and doing laundry. In fact, I was hanging up the sheets to dry, humming and little tune, when Kyo found me.

"I'll go"

I gasped and spun around, clutching the sheet I was holding to my chest. Kyo was leaning against the door frame of the balcony, arms crossed defiantly.

"Oh, Kyo, you scared me" I smiled warmly, "What's up-"

"The Hot Spring, I'll go" Kyo frowned, "Because I don't have a return gift or anything, I'll put up with that damn Yuki and go with you"

I blinked a couple times before a smile spread across my face, Kyo was looking away so he couldn't see it. He was going to go to the Hot Springs? Yes!

"I don't know if you care if I go. . . But. . ."

"Kyo! Of course I care if you go! It'll be all the more fun now!" I threw him a large smile, for some reason, this news had me dancing on my toes. This would be really fun, "Thank you! This is great, thanks a lot!"

"You know, you- you really are something" Kyo's face transformed into a warm smile, "You know that?"

Oh dear. . . I found myself blushing. I already knew Kyo was handsome, but when he smiles like that. h man. He went to an all new level.

"Kyo's got the hots!"

Kyo went stiff as Momiji latched onto him with a silly grin. It took a few seconds, but both Kyo and I realized what he had said in the first place. Of course, I went bright red, probably looking like a tomato with a body. Kyo's reaction was more violent.

****"I do not!"****

"You've got the hots!"

****"Shut up!"****

"What are they yelling about?"

I turned to Yuki with a bright smile, "Yuki! Good morning. Kyo has decided to join us at the Hot Spring!"

"Really?!" Tohru's voice sounded from the door, "That's wonderful!"

I smiled at her and turned to watched Kyo noogie Momiji, "Isn't it? Now we'll all be able to have fun"

"I guess it's alright" Yuki mumbled.


	15. Momiji's Song and Feinting Spells

"Hey Tohru look! A mountain!"

"Uh-huh"

"Ooh and a river!"

"Oh yes!"

"And a field!"

"Uh-huh"

"And look! It turned out to be a beautiful day huh?" Momiji turned to smile at her.

"Yes it did!" Tohru agreed.

I peeked over the edge of my book in time to see Momiji jump from the seat next to Tohru to the one next to Yuki.

We're on the bus Momiji managed to get on our way to the Sohma Hot Springs, the boy had chatted away happily the whole ride so far. Yuki and Kyo, however, were sulking in the seats across from Tohru and I.

"Right Yuki? Right Kyo?" Momiji asked.

"I guess" They mumbled.

I pursed my lips to hide a smile when they glared at each other before huffing and turning their faces in opposite directions. Those two. . .

"So why are you guys being so quiet? You're not sad you came are you?"

"I certainly hope not" I turned the page of my book, "Especially since you two came to keep us company"

"I thank you for that, by the way" Tohru bowed from her sitting position, "I hope we're not taking you away from anything important, I mean if you had other things planned. . ."

"Ah forget about it." Kyo sighed, "I only came because there was nothing better to do at home"

"Oh. . ." Tohru murmured, "Okay"

"And I haven't been to the hot spring in a long time. I was happy to come along" Yuki told her.

"Oh I get it!" Momiji beamed, "You're just thinking about how nice it's gonna be when we get there!Right?"

Yuki nodded, "Mhm"

"Then it's settled, once we get there we'll all try to have as much fun as we can! Right Tohru, Mandy?"

I smiled warmly at the bunny-boy over my book, "Of course Miji"

"Uh-huh, right!" Tohru said, "I'm sure that won't be hard to do, I'm already having such a wonderful time. I never dreamed giving out valentines chocolates would mean I'd be whisked away to a place as fancy as a hot spring! And not only that, but I'd get to ride there in a private charter bus like this! It all seems to be too good to be true! Like I'm a princess in a fairy tale!"

"Tohru can be the princess and I'll be her prince!" Momiji laughed.

I giggled at them, they really were so silly sometimes. Well, Momiji was silly. Tohru was just a naturally happy person, she always tries to find the wonder in everything.

Kyo ran a hand through his hair, "Awe give me a break, it's just a hot spring. It's not something you gotta get all worked up over"

"Sure it is!" I protested, "It's a friggin __hot spring__! What's not to be excited about?"

Yuki turned to look through the window, "I think it's just ahead!"

The bus dropped us off in front of a fancy looking hot spring, I tucked my book into my purse and turned to wave the bus driver goodbye.

"Wow. . ." Tohru murmured, "It's absolutely beautiful!"

"Well, come on princess Tohru! Your room awaits!" Momiji laughed

"Thank you Momiji, it's all so wonderful. You really have made me feel like a princess!"

"That's right, you're the princess!" Momiji said enthusiastically, "Oh, and I'll be your Knight!"

"knock it off!" Kyo groaned.

I laughed lightly and patted the irate cat's arm, "Alright guys, back to earth now please"

"Well then, I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow!"

We waved the bus driver away, Momiji hopping up and down with his arm above his head. I was about to say something when the door behind us opened to reveal a very sickly looking woman. Seriously, she looked like she was going to keel over.

"Thank goodness, I'm so glad you're here" She groaned in a raspy voice.

I inched behind Kyo and whispered, "Should she be working? She look's like she need's to be in the hospital or something. . . scary"

Tohru's reaction was a little stronger than mine, she let out a sort of wavering squeak and went all stiff.

Momiji calmed her down by saying, "Oh don't worry! That's the hot springs lady!"

"The word is hostess!" Yuki corrected him.

"Are you okay? Is everything alright?" Tohru shakily asked her.

I let out a startled scream when she lunged at Tohru and grabbed her wrists, was this lady nuts? Kyo only snickered at my reaction, which made me poke his side, making him twitch. Heehee's, Kyo's ticklish. . .

**__**"LET ME SHOW YOU TO YOUR ROOM!" **__**The hostess screamed.

Good god, this woman was nuts! Kyo just patted my shoulders and pushed me forward to follow the hostess, I gripped Tohru's hand and pulled her after me.

"Guess what?" Momiji asked, then continued before we could actually guess. "The hot spring lady is a Sohma too, she gets sick a lot so she stays here, for the health benefits and all that. The Sohma's own this place, you know."

"Really?" Tohru asked quietly.

The hostess turned around and smiled, "I apologize if I startled you"

I waved off her apology, "No, no, it's alright. Don't worry about it, you just caught us off guard"

"You don't have to apologize to us" Tohru raised her hands in a stop gesture, "Just so long as you're feeling alright. That's all that matters really"

"You two are to kind to an old woman like me, but thank you" She said, "I'm surprised that young master Shigure didn't accompany you today, perhaps he was too busy with work"

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and snicker, who was she calling "young master"?

"Young master Shigure? How old are you- oomph!"

I interrupted Kyo's rude comment by elbowing him in the gut, hissing. "Kyo! Be polite!"

"Yes, he had deadlines on two books coming up" Yuki spoke over my harsh whispering and Kyo's pained wheezing.

"Well that's a shame, you see, you're the only guest's we have today. It would have been a fine chance to visit with him"

I wonder if she knows about the curse. I followed her down the hallway, ignoring Kyo's angry muttering. Or maybe. . . is she part of the curse? I didn't give me much time to ponder that, because the next thing I know, we're opening the door to our suite.

"__Damn__" I whistled in appreciation. It was friggen huge.

Momiji ran into the room gasping, "Wow! It's so big!"

"Yes, I made sure we had our best room prepared for your arrival."

"Tohru, come over here!" Momiji called, "You've got to look at this garden!"

While they were admiring the garden I moved over to the bookshelf and began browsing through the titles.

"Did you finish your book already?"

I shot a quick smile at Kyo and shook my head, "Nope, but there are so many here that I had to look. Isn't this place nice?'

"It's okay" He mumbled

"What?! You mean they have to send out search parties?!"

I looked over at Tohru's shocked frame and raised an eyebrow at Yuki, silently asking what had happened.

Momiji nudged Tohru before he could say anything, "Tohru, that was a joke too"

She instantly relaxed and laughed sheepishly, "Oh, I guess it was, wasn't it"

"Miss Tohru, Miss Mandy, I've prepared a room for you next to the young masters" The older woman said.

Uh-oh, if that means what I think it means there is going to be issues. . .

"Hey" Kyo's voice sounded dark, "I hope you don't think I'm staying in the same room as that damn Yuki."

She covered her mouth and chuckled shakily, "You two get along as poorly as ever I see. But please, don't be upset. There are sliding doors to divide the room"

Kyo whirled on her, shaking his fist in the air. "That's not the point! The point is I didn't come here to-"

"The point is you just want to stay in the same room as Mandy, don't you?" Momiji cut in, nudging Kyo slightly.

"BWAAAA!" Kyo shouted, blushing all the way to the root's of his hair.

I, on the other hand, had gone totally silent. By the way my face was heating up, I'd say I was looking like a sunburned tomato.

"How crude" Yuki sneered.

"Hey! I didn't say that so shut up Momiji, you and your damn mouth!" Kyo shouted.

"_**_**Master Kyo"**_**_

Kyo gulped and looked over his shoulder at the Hostess, I could already tell this was going to be interesting, and loud.

"_**_**UUAAAHHH! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!" **_**_She lunged forward and grasped Kyo by the front of his shirt,**__**"TO THINK THAT YOU WOULD EVEN SUGGEST THE IDEA OF SHARING A ROOM WITH A YOUNG WOMAN! AND ALL THIS TIME, EVEN IF YOU ARE THE CAT I THOUGHT YOU'D BE A DECENT YOUNG MAN, SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU GOTTEN SUCH LECHEROUS IDEA'S INTO YOUR HEAD?!"**__**

"Hey! Hold on a minute!" Kyo protested, but she drowned him out and began apologizing.

"_**_**I'M SORRY WORLD! I MUST APOLOGIZE ON BEHALF OF THIS DIRTY MINDED BOY!"**_**_

"Okay, okay! I'll stay in the room with Yuki!"

I had one hand covering my mouth to hide my amusement and the other one being clutched by Momiji, who was only encouraging the Hostess ladies trip to crazy town.

"Pervert!" He laughed, "Kyo's a pervert!"

"I think she's stronger than she lead's on" Yuki muttered to us.

Tohru only made a small noise, almost like a giggle. I finally let loose a snort. Poor Kyo. . . maybe I should do something? Nah, she's scarier than Kagura. He'll live.

Maybe.

Once the Hostess was done ranting she left, leaving us to relax in the quiet room. Momiji reached into his bag and pulled out a towel and a robe.

"There's still time before dinner! So let's take a bath, okay Tohru?"

Tohru smiled, "Okay"

Momiji beamed, "Let's take it together!"

"Okay!"

Wait, what?!

Suddenly Kyo had Momiji on the ground and was noogying him, "You little- now who's the pervert?!"

"Awe! What'd I do?!" Momiji wailed.

"Oh but Momiji is so little and all, I think it'll be okay" Tohru said.

I only shook my head, he may be little, but he's still a boy! And unless these are communal bath's, I don't think that'll work.

"Little?" Kyo growled, still rubbing his knuckles into Momiji's head, "What're you talkin about?"

"Kyooooo!" Momiji wailed, "I wanna go with Tohru and Mandy! I wanna I wanna I wanna! WAHHH!"

Yuki sighed, and I thought I saw him slip something back into his bag, before getting up and walking over to Momiji. He cradled the bunnies head in his hands.

"Momiji" He reprimanded him, "Why don't we give the girls some time to themselves? After all, the reason we brought them here was to give them a chance to relax right?"

"Right" Momiji smiled softly, "I get it"

I let out a sigh of relief, thank god that's over with.

"But tonight we'll sleep together, okay?!"

Yuki, Kyo, and I sighed. He doesn't get it.

~LINE BREAK~

"How nice, our first open air bath" Tohru murmured, "And the spring seems almost big enough for Momiji to swim in"

I laughed and sunk into the water, sighing happily. "Knowing him, he's probably doing laps around Kyo just to annoy him."

Tohru pulled out a plastic wrapped picture of her mother, "Tadaaa~" She showed it to me, "Now mom will be able to join us!"

I nodded and dipped my head back while she talked quietly to her photo, Kyoko would have loved something like this.

Suddenly a loud splash sounded from the men's side of the bath's. Momiji's laughter said he'd probably just cannon balled into the spring.

"I'm doing that again!"

"Momiji! Get in and be quiet!" Kyo shouted

It was quiet for a few seconds before Momiji spoke again, "Tohru! Mandy! How are you doing?"

"You little brat! Didn't I tell you to be quiet?!"

"Awe! But they're by themselves! They're lonely!" Momiji whined, "Oh hey I know! Let's sing a song, okay? That way it'll seem like we're all in here together, it'll be a lot of fun, really!"

"A-a-a song?" Tohru stuttered.

"Yeah, sing something!"

I looked at the fence, "What should we sing? Any suggestions?"

"Okay! I'll sing then!"

__Who's in the forest strolling? The birds__

__and the bee's sing Momiji.__

__The frog's in the pond are calling__

__Momiji, yes, it's true!__

__The tree's raise their leaves-__

"What the hell is that?" Kyo's grumpy voice drifted over the fence.

"It's my son" Momiji said smugly, "I made it up!"

"So why don't you make up something that isn't so annoying?"

"Just sing it! Tohru, Mandy, you sing it too!"

I felt myself blush, "Alright, Miji, we'll sing with you"

__Who's in the forest strolling? The birds__

__and the bee's sing Momiji.__

"Tohru, Mandy, your turn!"

I shared a blushing glance with Tohru before we began singing along.

**_**Who's in the forest strolling? The birds**_**

**_**and the bee's sing Momiji.**_**

__The frogs in the pond are calling__

__Momiji, yes, it's true!__

"Why frog's, out of curiosity?" Yuki asked.

"Hey, knock it off, will you?" Kyo shouted.

We ignored them and sang along with Momiji. His song was cute, and fun to sing, Tohru was enjoying it just as mu as I was. I leaned back against a rock and sang softly with Tohru and Momiji.

**_**The frog's in the pond are calling**_**

**_**Momiji, yes, it's true.**_**

"D'ah! This is driving me nuts!"

**_**Who's in the forest strolling? The birds**_**

**_**and the bee's sing Momiji.**_**

**_**The frog's in the pond are calling**_**

**_**Momiji, yes, it's true!**_**

**_**The tree's raise their leaves together**_**

**_**Who need's the sun when we've**_**

**_**got you?**_**

I opened my eyes to smile at Tohru, just in time to see her faint. Her face was as red as a tomato from the heat.

"Oh my god Tohru!" I hurried to grab her so she didn't slip under.

"What is it? Miss Cho?!" Yuki asked loudly.

"Tohru fainted!" I called back, "Someone go find the Hot spring lady!"

Ah man, what am I going to do with you Tohru?

"Just hang on Mandy!" Kyo shouted back, "We'll get someone!"

"Alright!" I sighed, "For now, let's just get her onto the ledge"

Tohru was light, really, so it was easy to lift her onto the ledge and cover her with her towel. Now all I had to do was wait for some one to come and help.

Only Tohru would pass out in a hot spring on her first time.


	16. A Charm Bracelet and Ping Pong!

After Tohru's fainting spell, we were currently waiting for her to wake up in our room's. Well, Kyo, Yuki, and Momiji were waiting for her to wake up in our room's. I was brooding out in the gardens, berating myself for not noticing her getting to dizzy that she'd faint.

__Stupid, stupid, stupid! How can you be so unobservant?__

"Quit beating yourself up over what happened"

I jumped and spun around to glare at Kyo. The little bugger had snuck up on me again. When the Hostess lady had come to get Tohru, we had all changed into the relaxing kimono's that the Hot Spring had provided. But instead of wearing his like a normal person would, Kyo had his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders. I wore mine as well, but I had my sleeves down.

"Seriously, it's not your fault" Kyo insisted, arms crossed over his chest.

My glare slid off my face, it was replaced by a soft smile. "Thanks Kyo, hows Momiji holding up?"

"The little brats fine, hopping around like the annoying rabbit he is" Kyo narrowed his scarlet red eyes at me, "Are you done freaking out now?"

I stuck my tongue out at him, "__Yes, __thank you very much!" I folded my own arms over my stomach and nodded at his kimono, "You realize that the sleeves are supposed to be rolled down, right?"

"Tch" He tutted, "Whatever"

I grinned, "C'mon Kyo, let's go back inside"

I started to walk past him, but his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. "Hold on, I. . . uh. . ."

A flush started to creep up his neck, making me curious. "What's up Kyo? Is something wrong?"

He let go of my wrist and reached into his kimono, what he pulled out was. . . a bracelet?

"Is that a bracelet?" I asked, whispering for some reason.

He cleared his throat, "Um, yeah, well. . . I didn't get you anything for valentines day, so er. . ." He handed it to me, "Here"

It was a simple silver chain, the links were about the size of my pinky nail, a little large for your average bracelet, but it was still pretty.

"It's made so that you can add charms to it whenever you want" He rubbed the back of his neck, obviously feeling awkward. "I know it's stupid-"

"No, no, no!" I slipped the bracelet over my wrist and beamed at him, "It's not stupid! I love it! Thank you so much, really."

He blushed bright red, then rubbed his hand over the bottom half of his mouth. "Yeah, you're welcome. Let's go back inside"

"Sure" I followed him inside, smiling so hard I knew my cheekbones were going to hurt later.

"Mandy!" Momiji hurried over to me and grabbed my hands, then he noticed my bracelet. "Ooo! Pretty! Mandy, where did you get this?"

I felt a slight blush dust across my cheeks, "Oh, um, Kyo gave it to me, as a return gift"

The devious little rabbit got a sparkle in his light brown eyes, "Aha! So Kyo does have the hot's!"

"Arg!" Kyo howled and lunged for Momiji.

I grabbed Kyo by the back of his kimono and pushed Momiji out of the way with my free hand, "Kyo! Calm down, he's only trying to get a rise out of you!"

"And it's working" Yuki muttered quietly from one of the chairs, "Honestly, we're here for relaxing you stupid cat, can't you be quiet?"

"What was that?" Kyo snarled at him, "You wanna say that to my face? You rotten bastard!"

"ALRIGHT!" I let go of Kyo's kimono, making him fall at my sudden action. "That is enough! Momiji, stop tormenting Kyo. Kyo, stop letting Momiji rile you up like that. And Yuki," I wagged a finger at the stoic rat, "You __know __that when you say something like that, Kyo's going to react. So how about you don't!"

Five minutes later, they were all sulking at there own business. Well, Yuki and Kyo were sulking. Momiji was braiding my hair for me. Tohru walked in as soon as he finished tying off the second braid.

"Tohru!" We both shot up and hurried over to the other girl.

I reached out and felt her forehead with the back of my hand, "Good, you're not so hot anymore. Tohru!" I scolded lightly, "You should've said something if you were getting dizzy!"

"Yes Miss Honda, you had us all worried" Yuki told her..

Tohru looked between us and sighed, "I know, and I'm sorry"

"Tohru! Tohru! Are you feeling better?" Momiji asked her quickly

She smiled at the kid, "Yes! I'm much better now! Please don't worry about me"

That's when the Hostess arrived with all of our food for dinner, once the feast was set out on the table, I had to stop myself from jumping at it. Hey, I hadn't eaten since lunch on the bus, and I was __hungry__!

"Oh wow" Tohru gasped, "I've never seen so many delicious foods on a table all at once!"

"Are you kidding me? I've never seen so many delicious foods __ever!__" I took my seat between Momiji and Kyo.

"You think we can eat all this?" Kyo asked doubtfully

"Well, we'd better start serving the rice now" I said as Tohru and I reached for the rice, but Momiji had other ideas.

"Uh uh uh! No you don't!" Momiji put out a hand to stop us, "You two are the princesses today, remember? I'll do it!"

"O-okay" Tohru stuttered.

I smiled at Momiji, "What ever you say Momiji"

I had to stop myself from gawking at the enormous pile of rice he served Tohru and I. Did this boy think we never ate or something?

"Don't you think that's a little but much?" Kyo asked as he moved to grab something to eat, Momiji slapped his hand with the rice spoon, making him yelp. "Ouch! What the hell was that for?!"

"Princesses Tohru and Mandy get to go first!"

"Well Miss Honda, what are you going to try?" Yuki asked Tohru.

"Well I don't know, there's just so much!"

I grinned and reached for some of the marbled tuna sushi, "Yum, I know exactly what I want!"

"Don't be shy!" Momiji laughed, "Dig in!"

Tohru seemed to quiver for a moment, making me roll my eyes. She was probably giving herself some sort of big lecture in her head about how she should choose a piece, but had no idea what to choose. I grinned, an idea forming. . .

"BOO!"

She jumped with a yelp, nearly throwing her chopsticks in the air. I burst out laughing, Yuki and Momiji had actually jumped too!

"Tohru" I giggled helplessly, "There's no reason to freak out, really. Just grab what you think looks good!"

Yuki sent me a stern frown, "Was that necessary Miss Cho? You nearly gave Miss Honda a heart attack"

I gave him my most serious face ever, "Yes, yes it was"

There was a pause before Momiji laughed, followed by Tohru. Yuki cracked a smile and acknowledged my genius, well, that's what I was telling myself. All I got from Kyo was a look that said, "Are you crazy?", but I swear I saw his lips twitch up.

Finally, Tohru went for the salmon in the center of the table.

"It's delicious!"

"Wonderful!" Yuki smiled warmly, "I'm glad you like it"

"Well, go on, eat up! Eat up!" Momiji urged us.

Just as everybody was loading up their plates, the Hostess lady opened the door. "Pardon the intrusion, but the chef would very much like to pay his respects to the young masters"

When the chef came in an knelt to on the floor, I was eighty percent sure that they were related.

"As always, it is my pleasure to serve you" he took his hat off and smiled at us, "Does the cuisine meet with your approval?"

"Ah, yeah, its great" Kyo told him

"It's even better than I remembered"

"It is! A meal fit for a king!" Tohru assured the man

Before I could say anything, he seemed to see something wrong with the table, because he flew forward with a scary gleam in his eyes. "PLEASE MAKE WAY!"

He wrapped his hands around a cup and bowed his head, making a sound of dismay, "Oh, it's too cold"

"Nooooooo!" He cried as he scooted back, throwing himself into a bow so that his forehead touched the floor, "This is inexcusable! I thought that I'd seen to it that the young masters cuisine would be served with the hot foods hot and the cold food cold! Only my complete lack of confidence in myself could allow such a luke warm dish to be served to you! I beg your forgiveness!" He took a pair of chopsticks and pointed them at his chest, "May I be cut into a thousand pieces for this outrageous act!"

The Hostess shot forward and did the same thing, "No! It's my fault! I waited too long to serve your meal!"

"No, it was my fault!"

"It was my fault!"

Okay, I watched them fight each other over who's fault it was, now I was one hundred percent sure they were related. Tohru must have been thinking the same thing.

"By any chance, are those two-"

"Related?" Finished Yuki, "Yes, they're cousins. It's amazing, the family resemblance"

~LINE BREAK~

Several hours later, I was laughing my ass off as I watched Kyo try to beat Yuki at ping pong, and totally fail. He was hitting the ball too hard, and not letting it bounce. Of course, my position behind Yuki wasn't exactly the safest place to be, seeing as Kyo's hits were so hard, they'd whistle past Yuki and almost hit me. From the sound they made when they hit the wall, I definitely don't want to be hit.

"GYAAAA!" Kyo hit the ball way too hard, again, and nearly hit me, again.

"Out again" Yuki said calmly, with a hint if exasperation. "I told you, you have to let it bounce on the table"

"Shut up! That's stupid!" Kyo shouted, "Why would I want to hit that slow?!"

"Why? Because those are the rules" Yuki hit the ping pong ball at Kyo gently, letting it bounce.

Kyo, of course, let out a warriors cry and smacked it as hard as he could. . . right at my face. I let out a little scream and dropped, the ball hit the wall above my head, actually leaving a scorch mark.

"Out again" Yuki sighed.

"Kyo!" I howled, "That almost hit me! The rules are, you have to let it bounce!"

"Hang in there Kyo! You can do it!"

I sulked over to the spot next to Momiji and Tohru. Sure, don't ask if I'm okay. I was only almost just beheaded by Kyo's refusal to follow he rules. . .

"I thought in ping pong you'd be able to beat me, but it seems, as usual, it's hopeless" Yuki taunted him.

"RAAAAAAHHHHGGG!" Kyo actually roared, like, animal roared, and threw the ping pong table aside. "How can I beat you with all these stupid rules, ya damn rat?! How bout we take this outside!"

"You know, you're the one that wanted to play this game in the first place"

"Um, well, in that case, if you still want to play, I'll play against you Kyo" Tohru said.

"Ooh that sounds like fun!" Momiji beamed, "Play her, play her!"

I nearly choked on my own saliva, Tohru wanted to play against Kyo? Jeez, this outta be good.

"Fair warning, I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're a girl" Kyo told her.

"Right"

"Don't forget, it has to bounce"

"Kyo, you hit her with that ping pong ball and I'll throw my paddle at your head"

"Shut up!" He shouted, then hit the ball.

Now, the first thing I noticed was that he hit the ball a lot more gently than when he had been playing against Yuki. What happened next was absolutely amazing.

"HAAAAAA!" Tohru let out her own cry as she swung at the ball.

. . . and missed. She totally and utterly missed. I blinked a couple of time, trying to process what just happened, and burst into laughter.

"Huh? I missed it!" She sounded so surprised!

"Yeah I noticed," Kyo said, "You kinda suck"

"Kyooooo! Don't tell her that!" Momiji protested.

"Che!"

When I stopped laughing, Yuki and Tohru were both missing from the room. Hmm, maybe he's going to give her that little bag I'd seen him playing with earlier today. So, ignoring the absence of my two friends, I leaned against the wall and watched Kyo and Momiji set up a game.

I was playing against Kyo when Tohru and Yuki came back, with a brand new yellow ribbon in her hair and a pretty blush tinting her cheeks. I grinned at her an raised the hand with the bracelet. She saw it and beamed happily. Then I got my smacked in the face by a ping pong ball.

"Dammit Kyo!"

"Why weren't you paying attention!"

"Shut up! I was. . . busy!"

"Busy with what?"

Very maturely, I stuck my tongue out at him and blew a raspberry. Everyone laughed at my failure, including myself.

~LINE BREAK~

"I'm afraid it's time to say goodbye, but please, all of you, I do hope you'll come again soon!"

The Hostess lady was saying goodbye to us he next morning. She was leaning against Kyo for support, obviously feeling like she should still be in bed, like I was.

"Do you __have __o lean on me like that?" he asked her.

"Thank you, and take care of yourself" Tohru told her.

"Yeah" I smiled at the sickly looking woman, "And tell your cousin that dinner really was wonderful"

"You as well Miss Tohru, and I'll be sure to let him know you enjoyed dinner Miss Cho" She leaned even more against Kyo, making him tip slightly.

"Okay, heavy!" He raised his voice slightly.

"Okay!" Tohru smiled.

"I think our driver got lost" Momiji spoke up, looking down the road.

Tohru turned to him, "Hey, Momiji, I guess after this I won't get to see you for a while huh?"

I instantly began pouting, I __liked__having him around. It made things even more fun.

"Huh?"

"But, you know, I don't think I even know what year in school you'll be starting this Spring" Tohru mused, "Is this your first year of middle school?"

"Nope!" He laughed, "This year will be my first year in high school! And as it turns out, I'll be going to the same school as you! That's right! Me and Haru both!"

I swear I died of shock right then. Momiji was starting his first year of HIGH SCHOOL?! That. . . I don't. . . Aflakdhfosidfjdfhho! My brain flat lined.

"Why you sneaky little- why didn't you and Haru tell us you were coming to our school!" I could faintly hear Kyo shouting at Momiji.

"We wanted it to be a surprise!"

A surprise. . . oh yeah, I'd say it was a surprise. I thought Momiji was only eleven or something! That just . . He and Haru were the same age? That's just not right. . .

"Miss Honda, Miss Cho, I'm guessing you didn't know, but Momiji and Haru are the same age" Yuki said.

I think he broke Tohru, because she seemed to explode. She started to freak out, a bit of a delayed reaction, if you ask me.

"All this time I thought he was in elementary school!" She cried, "And now he's coming to our high school? With Hatsuharu?! Nyaaa! I don't even know which part to be more surprised about!"

"Be surprised about everything!" Momiji chimed up.

"That's. . . doable" I almost whimpered.

Oh dear, so, when we go back to school, Hatsuharu and Momiji will be joining us. With Hatsuharu's hair, the school president was going to have an aneurysm.

Life just got more interesting. . . if that's even possible.


	17. Akito's Surprise Visit, then Badminton

After the Hot Springs trip, Summer seamed to go by so fast. Next thing I knew, it was the first day of the new year. This year should be interesting, especially if Haru and Momiji were going to be joining us.

I had been at the entrance ceremony with Tohru and Saki, watching Yuki welcome this years first year students. But after, I made my way to the library to talk to the teacher I was to be assisting. Hinayana-Sensei was a quiet old woman who couldn't reach the top shelves of the book cases to put them away.

After __that __was done, I made my way to our homeroom. I didn't make it half way before stumbling onto something very disturbing. Tohru was leaning against the wall, staring off into space, and two other boys in our year were watching her like vultures, muttering to each other.

"That girls pretty cute, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so, but she kinda looks like an airhead"

"Yeah, just my type. I can talk her into going out with me, I don't do so hot with smart girls"

"Well, you have a point there. So what are you waiting for? Go over there and work your magic!"

"Watch and learn man"

Oh __hell __no! I was about ready to come up behind these two asshats and practice my punching skills on them when Kyo appeared. He punched the wall above Tohru's head and send a 'I dare you to try it' glare in there direction. The two boys yelped and spun around to run away. Too bad I was in there way.

"Hey" I cocked my hip out and crossed my arms over my chest, "You know, it's really not smart to go around talking about girls like they're material possessions. And it's really dumb to do it in the middle of the hallway." They withered under my glare, "Now get outta here, before I decide to kick your asses"

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I'm best friends with Arisa Uotani. Do you think I haven't learned something from her?"

They split.

I watched them leave before walking over to Tohru and Kyo, "What's up?"

Tohru's eyes slid past me to over my shoulder, "Momiji!"

I spun around and grimaced, I had seen him before, but him wearing a girls uniform still weirded me out. After all, the boy was only a year younger than I was.

Kyo apparently had the same idea, because he punched Momiji upside the head just before he could latch onto Tohru. "WHAT ARE YOU? STUPID?!"

"Waaah! Kyo's hitting me!" Momiji whined loudly.

"Idiot! What the hell are you doing wearing a girls uniform?!" Kyo shouted

Tohru tried to keep the peace, "Kyo, don't be mad!"

"Good morning" Hatsuharu Sohma said calmly as he walked up to us.

I was still a little weird about him, seeing as last time I had seen him, he'd gone Black Haru on everyone and threatened to do a 'Little off this and a little of that' to me.

"Oh, Hatsuharu" Tohru greeted the white haired boy.

"Hey Haru" I waved in hello.

"Well, at least you're not wearing a girls uniform too" Kyo growled.

"It's alright, isn't it?" Haru asked, "It suits him"

Momiji quit crying and beamed happily, "Yeah, that's right!"

"Uh-huh, it looks good on you!" Tohru agreed.

"What difference does __that __make?!" Kyo screeched, waving his arms around wildly.

"What the- Momiji, what in the world are you wearing?"

When Yuki's presence was made known, Haru spread his arms like an airplane and zoomed over to him, fastening his hands in the front of Yuki's shirt. I had to smile, because for all of Hatsuharu's weirdness, he was adorable.

"Hello Haru" Yuki sighed.

"So Yuki, are you finished with all of your work yet?" Tohru asked, smiling happily at Yuki.

"No, not quite, I was just making my rounds and I heard the commotion"

I rubbed my nose, "We weren't being that loud, were we?"

A bland look gave me my answer, I guess we had been making a bit of a fuss, with Momiji's bawling and Kyo's screaming.

"Hey listen, listen!" Momiji grabbed all our attention, "I'm really not supposed to goof around too much when I'm here, cuz if I do, it'll be too easy for me to crash into girls! So I'm gonna try and play it cool at school!"

I face palmed, how the hell was wearing the girls uniform playing it cool?

"How the hell can you call wearing a dress cool!" Kyo looked like he was about ready to flip.

"A valid point, Kyo Sohma from class 2D!" a high, nasally voice echoed through the hall. "And while I find that orange head of yours disagreeable, I will ignore it for the moment. But, what I cannot ignore is a boy who would wear a girls uniform to school! This goes BEYOND outrageous, and even if your teachers allow it, I will not! For I am this schools Student Council President, MAKOTO TAKAI! Also known as, Captain of the Campus Defense Force!"

"Oh no. . ." I groaned.

The two girls behind him clapped mechanically, as if this was rehearsed.

"What an idiot" we all chorused, except Tohru and Momiji.

"I can see already that you're going to be a problem student, and the same goes for you Hatsuharu Sohma." President Takai said, "I will not tolerate that white hair, or those gaudy necklaces!"

"President Takai, it's his natural color" Yuki interjected.

"Oh Yuki! So nice to see you!" The bespectacled idiot gushed, "But NATURAL color? I can see that his hair line is black!"

"Yes, that's natural too"

Haru stuck his finger in his ear and began rubbing it, a sure sign that he was getting irritated. I stepped up and edged over to Kyo, wanting to be as far away from the bipolar fifteen year old as possible when he exploded.

"That's ridiculous! I don't believe it!" He rounded on Momiji, "And I suppose wearing this dress is natural for you Momiji Sohma? Have you no pride as a man? You had best change your ways, and your clothes, before this incident becomes the ruin of your life!"

Momiji sniffed, "Bu-ut this uniform looks be-etter on me!"

Tohru placed herself in front of the sniffling rabbit with her arms spread wide, "Please, don't yell at him anymore"

"If I am yelling, Tohru Honda, it is to ensure that he hears this advice! Which should have been obvious to anyone with common sense!"

I took a step into his space, backing him away from Tohru and Momiji, "Tone it down President Takai, there's no need to bully them"

His glasses flashed as he glared at me, "Well, Amanda Cho of class 2D, since you quit dying your hair ridiculous colors, I have no problem with you. But to say that I am bullying-"

We could practically feel the snap as Haru's personality took a turn to the dark side, "Shut up. Quit shouting like you're king of the friggen world! You're making my ears bleed you bastard"

He stepped past me and at President Takai, "Now I've got some common sense for you. If I wore a tie, it wouldn't change who I am. If I had no piercings, it wouldn't mean I'm nice. And if my hair was black, it wouldn't stop me form kicking your ass!" Haru grabbed the front of Takai's shirt in a fierce grip, pulling him closer, "Who do you think you are anyway? Do you think you're god? Huh? Do ya?"

Look out world, Black Haru has made a comeback!

Haru began shaking Takai roughly, "What's the matter?! Run out of things to say?! No more advice?! You're not so hot right now, are you?!"

"Hey! Cut it out!" Kyo shouted, "He's just an idiot!"

"Shut up! No one asked you, you stupid cat!"

"Don't call me stupid ya little brat!"

Haru stopped his abuse on Takai to glare at Kyo, "You think you can run away from our last fight and tell me what to do?!"

"What? You were the one who called it off, remember?!"

"Well now I'm calling it back on!"

"No problem with me!"

"Tohru, Mandy, you want some candy?" Momiji offered us a lollipop.

"No thank you"

"I'm good, thanks Miji"

"Hey sweetheart" Haru placed a hand on each of Takai's followers shoulder.

"Leave them alone!" Kyo growled.

"Tell me something, you ladies think Momiji's outfit is okay, dont'cha? In time, after he grows up some more, he'll be able to start wearing men's clothing, and if you think he looks good in that girls uniform, just imagine what he'll look like as an adult"

"Lovely" They chorused, obviously taken in with the way Haru was describing things.

"Don't be brain washed!" Takai howled.

Haru walked over to Momiji and placed a hand on his head, "For now, he should wear the clothes that look best on him."

"No!" Shouted Takai, "There's dress code! It's not fair to the other students!"

"You stubborn idiot! What would you do if it was Yuki wearing a girls uniform, huh?"

Oh. My. God. I clapped my hand over my mouth to stop the bark of laughter that wanted to burst free. Yuki. . . in a girls uniform? Wasn't it enough that he had to wear a dress for the cultural festival?!

"Haru, cut it out, or I will cut you off!" Yuki growled.

Haru pressed a finger to his lips, "Awe, have my words, made you angry?"

"It's beautiful!" Takai was obviously just as susceptible to Haru's words as his followers were.

"Stop imagining me!" Yuki shouted, actually losing his cool.

Takai snapped out of it, "Oh my, I guess I got carried away. You are a worthy opponent Hatsuharu Sohma. But still. . ." He jabbed a finger at Haru and began shouting again, "But your hair is unacceptable! You will never convince me that's your natural color!"

Haru gripped Takai by the front of his shirt and dragged him into the boys bathroom. There was an awkward silence, then the door opened, reveling a much more subdued President Takai and a very satisfied Haru.

Takai took off his glasses, "Impressive evidence. . . there are still so many strange things in this world that have yet to be reveled to me. . ."

"He didn't!" Kyo blanched.

"I think he did!" Yuki grimaced.

I felt my face heat up like a beacon. There was only one way that Haru could have convinced Takai if his natural hair color. . .

"You may have won today, Sohma, but you won't be so lucky next time! I'll get you! I'll get you all!"

Once he and the two girls were gone, I almost began weeping in relief. It was only the first day of school, and there was already an overdraft of drama.

"So who were those people anyway?" Momiji asked.

We all sighed at Haru's answer.

"Beats the hell out of me"

"Um, Hatsuharu? I don't understand, how did you manage to convince him that was your natural hair color?" Tohru asked, of course Tohru would ask.

"Alright" Haru gripped her chin, "Why don't you come with me and see for yourself?"

"Like HELL!" I ripped Tohru away from him as both Yuki and Kyo landed a blow to his head.

"That Black Haru is too much" Kyo mumbled.

"Um, so how did he?" Tohru asked again.

"Never mind, don't worry about it Miss Honda!" Yuki said hastily.

Haru sat up and pressed a hand over his face, "Why do I feel so exhausted?"

Kyo fell to his knee's and Yuki face palmed. I giggled hysterically, letting my head slump to Tohru's shoulder. Oh man. . .

"Oh brother" sighed Kyo, "You think you're exhausted?"

Tohru perked up as the bell rang, "Oh! Hey, there's the bell!"

"I guess we'd better get to our classrooms, huh?" Momiji chirped.

"Oh yes, if you'd like, maybe after school I could introduce you to my friends!" Tohru suggested.

"You'd do that? Really? Great! I'd love to meet your friends! I'd love it!"

Haru grunted in agreement.

"Great! I guess we'll see you later then?" Tohru asked as we began to walk away.

"Um actually, Yuki! Kyo! I have something I need to tell you! Can you stay for a minute?"

Tohru and I left the four boys there in the hallway, wondering what Momiji needed to tell them. For some reason, I got a knot in my stomach.

"That was quite a scene back there" Tohru brought me back to reality as we were passing through a breezeway, "If this is what it's going to be like every day, I think it might drive Yuki and Kyo crazy"

I crossed my arms behind my head, "Kyo already has such a hard time controlling his temper, Momiji's gonna make it even harder"

Tohru giggled in agreement.

"You seem to be in a good mood"

Tohru and I both stopped and stared. It was the man we had glimpsed at the Sohma Estate when we were meeting with Hatori. He was wearing black pants, black shoes, and a black long sleeved shirt with silver stripes down the outside of the arms. He walked up and stopped right before us.

"E-excuse me" Tohru stuttered, "Are you, Akito?"

"Yes I am, Miss Tohru Honda" He turned his stoic face on me, "and Miss Amanda Cho"

Tohru sunk straight into a deep bow, "Pleased to meet you!"

I was a little slower, and didn't bow as deeply as she did. There was just something about this guy that made me want to grab Tohru and get our asses the hell out of dodge. But, I obviously couldn't do that, this was the guy that let us stay in Shigure's house.

What the hell was Akito doing here at school? Did he come to see Momiji and Haru's entrance ceremony?

He chuckled, "You're very polite, that's good. You __seem __like a good person. And not only that, but you are extremely cute" He seemed to be only talking to Tohru, which I didn't like at all. "As are you, Amanda"

I liked him talking to me even less, "Thank you"

What he said seemed to sink into Tohru's head, "Oh no! Not really!"

He laughed, "So, you're modest too. But really, you are cute. I'm sorry I didn't say hello when we saw each other at the main house. I tend to be rather shy around strangers, I hope you're not angry"

"Oh no! Of course not!" Tohru shook her head wildly.

I shoved my unsavory feelings aside and smiled politely, "We're not mad Akito, who can blame anybody for being shy?"

"Well that's good" He smiled charmingly, "I should introduce myself properly, I'm Akito, Head of the Sohma family. I am pleased to meet you"

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine! Really!" Tohru hurried to say.

"I do hope the three of us can be friends from now on" He said, "Just as you are, with Yuki and Kyo"

"Akito!" Yuki's voice was shocked when he called out Akito's name, he obviously didn't know that the Head of the Sohma House had decided to make a visit.

"Ah, there you are Yuki" Akito began walking to him, with his arms outstretched. "I've missed you. It feels like it's been such a long time since we last saw each other, doesn't it?"

"What did you do?!" Yuki's voice shook slightly when he asked the question.

"You look so grown up now" Akito continued as though Yuki had said nothing, "I think you've even gotten taller"

"What did you do?" Yuki asked again, in a sharper voice, "Tell me, what did you do to Miss Honda and Miss Cho?"

"Nothing at all, we were just introducing ourselves" Akito turned to us, "Right Miss Honda, Miss Cho? We were just saying hello, weren't we?"

Tohru and I both gave our assurances that all we had been doing was a simple introduction. Then Akito began talking to Yuki in a lowered voice, making it so we couldn't hear what he was saying to Yuki. I frowned when he raised his hand to cup the side of Yuki's face, fear seemed to cloud Yuki's usually alert violet eyes. I didn't like it. Yuki was my friend, and nobody scared my friends while I was around, not while I could do anything about it.

Cheesy, I know, but that's how I am.

Tohru and I rushed forward at the same time, her pushing Akito away from Yuki while I planted myself in front of him protectively, spreading my arms out, like Tohru had done for Momiji.

"Sorry" I apologized quickly, "But we're already really late, so we had better get going to class now"

"I understand" Akito murmured, "Sorry to keep you, I suppose I should be getting back to Shigure and the others as well. They must be worried by now." He looked at Yuki over my shoulder, "I do hope you'll enjoy this new school year, and I'd be very happy if you paid me a visit sometime soon"

I glared at his retreating back, wanting to. . . to do anything to get rid of that smug smile that was on his face as he walked away.

"Tell me," Yuki asked, "Akito, he didn't do or say anything weird to you, did he?"

"No, he really only did introduce himself" Tohru reassured him.

I turned so I was facing him instead of shielding him, "It's true"

A small relieved smile pulled at his lips, "Good"

Tohru rushed up to him, "We should do something fun"

Yuki and I both went, "Huh?"

"School get's out early today, so Uo and Hana thought it might be nice if we played a game this after noon!" Tohru explained, "Especially since it had been such a long time! I think everyone's going to be there, so you should come too!"

"That sound's like fun!" I grinned at the idea of watching Kyo and Arisa go at it again, I gripped both of their hands and spoke in a motherly fashion as I pulled them to class, "Now we should get to class before we get in trouble! Can't be getting detention if we wanna play later!"

~LINE BREAK~

"Rock. Paper. Scissors"

"What am I doing here? I hate badminton" Groused Kyo.

"Oh stop it" Arisa told him, "I don't even want to hear you complaining over there. At least you don't have to play with this stupid mask over your face!"

I poked his back with my racket, "Awe c'mon Kyo, it's fun! You've never played with us before have you?"

He tapped the top of my head with his own racket, "Shut up, fine, I'll play"

"So we've picked teams" Yuki said, "But what now? What are the rules?"

"What are you talking about?" Arisa asked him.

I didn't pause in my poking Kyo when I spoke, "Our games are kind of wild, we made it up a while ago"

"Rules are useless in badminton" Saki told him, "You hit the birdie as hard as you can, your opponent will try to do the same. If you must call it a rule, then the first person to collapse form exhaustion loses."

"That's good, it sound easy" Haru smiled happily.

"It sounds stupid!" Kyo shouted, swatting at my racket as it hit his arm.

"Shut up will ya? Just, get into position!" Arisa sighed.

"Position?" asked Yuki.

We positioned ourselves on either side of the net. I was on the same team as Saki, Haru, and Kyo. This would be interesting.

"Alright Prince" I heard Arisa address Yuki, "Time to let Orange Top have it"

Kyo practically crawled over the net, "Keep dreaming Yankee!"

By the end of the game, everyone was sweating and smiling, except Saki, but she never seemed to exert herself. I saw Yuki and Tohru share a sweet smile, which made me smile. The fear from earlier was gone from his eyes, and was now replaced by happiness and content.

Kyo noticed my grin and asked, "What's got you so happy?"

I winked at him, "It's a secret!"

He "T'ched" and looked away. I couldn't tell if he was blushing, or just over heating from the game. He was probably just over heated.

"What a day" I murmured, "What a day"


	18. An Unexpected Haircut and Crazy FanGirls

I fucking _hate _fan girls. They're all stuck up little girls with superiority complexes as big as their fat heads. I would like nothing more than to be able to pull out their hair and feed their faces to a hungry llama name Carl.

Er . . . sorry about that little rant, you see, I seem to have some Kyo fan girls on my ass because I'm always hanging out with him. I was now furious, in the bathroom, watching Tohru cut a piece of bright pink bubble gum out of my hair. It wasn't just a little piece, oh no, it couldn't be that easy, the little bitches stuck up close to my scalp.

I was going to commit murder. You don't _touch _my hair, I was practically whimpering as I watched Tohru clip it out, oh god, it was so _long!_ I shut my eyes tightly.

"There" Tohru said quietly, "All done. Um, I think you're going to have to go get the rest cut professionally Mandy, I had to cut out such a long piece. . ."

I whimpered pathetically, "M-my hair!"

I had one long chunk missing, meaning the rest was going to have to get cut accordingly. I had _loved _my hair, I will admit that it was my one vanity. I could care less what I looked like, as long as my hair was clean and nice looking.

Tohru ran to our room and came back holding my purple beanie hat, "Here, put this on and then we can go get your hair cut"

I took the hat from her and grabbed my hair with my free hand, twisting it so I could easily stuff it all into the beanie. "Thanks Ru, you're the best friend ever"

She blushed and started to stammer out denials, but I grabbed her hand and walked her back to the bedroom, ignoring it. I grabbed my wallet and stuffed it into the back pocket of my jeans and threw on a sweater, it was getting quite chilly now, and proceeded to drag Tohru downstairs and out the front door, shouting:

"Going out! We'll be back in time to make dinner! BYE!"

I didn't pay attention to the muffled shouts through the door, I was determined to get this over with. I was getting a haircut. Ugh. . .

Tohru, being the sweetheart that she is, held my hand throughout the long arduous process. I basically told the hairdresser to have at it, but make it look good, before closing my eyes the whole time. Yeah, I know I'm a wimp. Don't rub it in.

_Snip! Snip! Snipsnipsnip. . ._

"Mandy, its over" Tohru said soothingly, "I think it looks really good!"

I peeked my right eye open, keeping my left one tightly shut, and glanced into the mirror. Both eyes popped open and my mouth dropped, _holy crap!_

It was short, layered, and I had two pieces of hair framing my face around my bangs. Think Yuki Nagato from Haruhi Suzumiya. I actually liked it.

"Wow. . ." I reached up and ran my hands through it, "It's so. . . light!" I turned to, Eri was the name on her tag, and beamed. "Thank you!"

"No problem sweetie" Eri winked, "With that haircut, you're gonna have all the guys after you."

I blushed, stuffed my beanie back on my head, paid the nice lady, and left. Her laughter followed us into the chilly air, making Tohru giggle.

When we got back home, it was about time to start on dinner, so Tohru abandoned me in the doorway and rushed to start cooking. I thing we were having pork tonkatsu and rice balls. Yummy~

I took off my shoes and placed them next to Tohru's and hung up my sweater, slightly dreading showing everyone else my hair. They knew someone had stuck gum in it, but after the third time I almost snapped Kyo and Yuki's heads off, they had left us alone.

The beanie was yanked off of my head suddenly, making me squeak and spin. Kyo was holding my hat in his hands smirking at me. I simply pouted and crossed my arms.

"Well? What do you think?!" I demanded.

I found myself blushing when he reached out to touch my bangs, and if I looked carefully, there was a hint of a blush on his cheeks too.

"It looks good" He mumbled, then ruffled it before going upstairs.

I couldn't help the stupid grin on my face while I fixed the mess he made out of my new hair. Then I remembered that he had my hat.

"Hey! Kyo! That's my favorite hat!"

~LINE BREAK~

"Nice haircut" the snide, sarcastic, voice of Kaede Miyamoto grated over my ears.

I slammed my locker shut and turned around, smiling sweetly. "Awe, thanks, you're too kind"

Kaede, Ayumi, and Rei were the three main members of Kyo's little fan club. If they were here to taunt me about the new hairstyle, they had another thing coming.

Rei, her brown eyes flashing, sneered. "It looks like you hacked at it with a pair of scissors"

Ayumi giggled, "She looks like a boy. . ."

I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips, tutting in a disappointed manner. "Are those seriously the worst insults you could come up with? Tohru could do better than that, and she doesn't have a mean bone in her body" I shook my head, "Look, I'll demonstrate how to insult someone properly."

I pointed at Kaede, "You're wearing so much make-up, it looks like I could scrape it off with my finger nail, haven't you ever heard that less is more?" I smirked, "Obviously not, because you stuff your bra with tissues and toilet paper."

She gasped and covered her chest with her arms. How do I know that she stuffs her bra? I've seen pieces hanging out while she changed in the locker room for gym.

I shifted my finger to Rei, "You look like someone came along and sowed all of your clothes a size to small, nobody wants to see your boobs hanging out of your school uniform dear. Oh, and no boy's ever gonna date a harpy like you, who wants to be yelled at all the time?"

Don't even get me started. I've seen her interact with past beaus, it was never a pretty sight. And seriously? Her skirt is so short I can practically see her . . . yup, pink underwear.

Ayumi looked slightly frightened by now, so I just looked her up and down before curling my lip and turning my head away like I couldn't stand to look at her.

Two seconds later it all went to hell. Kaede let out some sort of screeching war cry and flew at me, her friends following in her wake.

I won't bother describing the fight, because it wasn't much of a fight. Except for a few good hits, they didn't do much damage. Me, on the other hand, I gave them each a black eye, Kaede got a swollen lip, Rei got a split upper lip, and Ayumi would be nursing a lump on her forehead from where I shoved her into a locker.

It was broken up by some teachers pulling us apart and dragging us to the principal's office. I got off with a lecture and a warning, thank god for cameras in the hallways, and they all got suspended for a week. That would mean one peaceful week for me, and one hell of a time to get caught up for them.

All of this happened before lunch, and you can guess what everyone's faces looked like when they took in the bandage covering the scratch mark on my cheek, and the sexy split bottom lip that I sported.

"What the _hell_-"

"Oh my goodness Mandy!"

"Miss Cho are you alright?!"

I waved away the concerns of Tohru, Arisa, and Yuki before turning to look at Kyo and Saki. "Well? Are you gonna say something?"

"I already know who will be on the receiving end of my poisonous electric pulses" Saki stated serenely.

I blinked slowly, "Alrighty then," I turned to Kyo, "What about you?"

Kyo grabbed my chin and twisted my face to get a better look, totally oblivious to my slight blush. I was really gonna have to figure out why I kept reacting to him this way. . .

"The other guy looks worse?"

I nodded, effectively freeing my chin. "Technically it was girls, as in, three of them, but yes. They do in fact look worse than I do."

He just ruffled my hair, "Good"

Oh boy, I could already sense a new pattern with this new hairstyle. It included lots of people rubbing their hands over my head to mess it up. I moved to Tohru and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, squeezing reassuringly and planting a kiss on her head.

"Kyo, did you know you have fan girls? And they quite passionately hate my guts too!" I informed the carrot-top cheerily, grinning when he went pale.

"W-what?!"

I arched an eyebrow at his dramatic reaction, "Who the hell do you think stuck gum in my hair? They decided to try and rub it in today. They didn't like the way I reacted." I waved my hand like I was batting away a bothersome fly, "Please, like they could stop me from being your friend."

Arisa snickered, "At least you kicked there asses"

Yuki frowned in disapproval, "Miss Cho, fighting in school is a very bad idea"

Tohru clasped her hands in front of herself, "As long as you're alright Mandy, I'm glad."

Lunch went on, conversation flowed, and at one point I think Arisa and Kyo were ready to tear each other apart. You know, the usual. At the end of lunch, everyone cleaned up and went to their own classes. Kyo paused by my desk and lightly tapped his knuckles into the side of my skull before walking on.

I grinned and ran a hand through my hair. By tapping the side of my head, Kyo was saying thank you for staying his friend. It really was no hassle for me. I'd do more than fight a couple of crazy girls to stay his friend.

Let's just hope I never have to.

* * *

><p>Sooooo. . . *Ducks and runs for cover*<p>

I am sooooo sorry! Life man, life gets away with you! Um, I hope you like this chapter! I wanted to try something new and do a little chapter that was purely from my imagination and not anything from the anime or manga.

There was some Mandy/Kyo fluff if you turn your head and squint.

And yes, I am purposefully making Mandy dense to her own feelings.

There was a little bit of foreshadowing in that last part!

REVIEWS ARE LOVE! I love feedback!

Right, I'm going a little crazy. It's currently 2:53 am where I am, and I really need to get to sleep. I came straight home from work to give you guys this!

I love you all!


	19. Snakes and a Cow's Intervention!

"Shigureeee, I'm bored" I draped my upper body over the table, "Blehhh . . ."

The dog peered at me from over his newspaper, "You could always enjoy the quiet while it lasts"

I wrinkled my nose at him, "Where's the fun in silence? I almost prefer Kyo and Yuki beating the crap at each other"

I yelped when the newspaper wacked me over the head, "Don't jinx the peace!"

He went back to reading his paper while I rubbed the top of my head, ruffling my short hair. I muttered, "Crazy old man. . ."

But seriously, I was bored. How often does that happen in this house? Almost never. I was looking out for flying pigs and the apocalypse. I suppose I was just too used to hanging around rowdy people. Once you start hanging around Kyo, Arisa, Momiji, and Haru you come to expect a little noise.

I even missed Saki's quiet psychicness. That girls had a dark sense of humor. The girls that fought with me in the hallway after I got my haircut? Yeah, they were twitching and hearing things as soon as their suspension was up. Heehees . . .

Talking about dark, it's only been a few days since our encounter with Akito. I don't really understand what he said to I don't really understand what he said to Yuki to get such a strong reaction from him, but I can say that I ever want to see him near any of my friends ever again.

Something about him just made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But, with lots of careful attention form Tohru, Yuki's been a much better mood. I could see the friendship growing stronger between the two, and I'm sure Tohru was oblivious to the little looks he gave her.

It was almost sad. I'm gonna have to get together some sort of game plan to get those two together. . .

The quiet sound of Kyo's plodding feet drew my attention as he walked pas us into the kitchen, I giggled at the sound his stomach made.

"Dammit I'm hungry!"

"Tohru should be back soon" Shigure said from behind his newspaper, "Try being patient for once."

"Forget it" Kyo growled, "I'll just make something myself"

"Hold on Kyo!" Shigure stood and pulled something out of a cupboard, "I have a better idea, you can snack on these to tide you over until Tohru gets back!"

I rolled my eyes and smacked my hand to my forehead, he was holding out a bowl of leaks, dried miso, and green onions to Kyo. That dumbass, I swear he does these things on purpose. He knows that Kyo despises leaks and dried miso with a fiery passion.

Sure enough, Kyo freaked. "Are you crazy? You know damn well I hate miso!"

I winced as the food and bowl went flying, waiting for the resounding crash. Thankfully, the bowl landed in the sink harmlessly, the ingredients in it, on the other hand, were scattered across the floor. I sighed and stood, getting the trash can.

"Really you guys?"

They ignored me.

Shigure blanched, "You know, you really shouldn't waist food like that. Terrible!"

Kyo glared at him, "Grrrr . . ."

We all paused when we heard the door open, Shigure grinned and turned. "There, you see? Here they are . . . now. . ."

We all stared at the white snake Yuki was shoving in Shigure's face. I slipped the trash can back under the sink and got a closer look. Snakes were one of my favorite reptiles.

Yuki got this demonic look in his usually peaceful purple eyes, "You want lunch? Here, skin _this _and eat it!"

Um, what? I thought only Kyo could get the rat this riled up. What the hell did a simple snake . . . do . . .? I gawked as realization hit me, it was a zodiac member! That made sense as to why Yuki would bring it in the house, but what I don't understand is what it did to piss him off.

"Uh, is that, Aya?!" Shigure murmured, "It is! But, what is he doing here?!"

Yuki's demonic aura notched up, "Forget that, just skin this thing and eat it!"

"Hold on, I think you need to calm down Yuki" Shigure told the irate teen.

While all of this was going on, I was watching the growing look of horror on Kyo's face. It was like he had learned that Kagura had a twin sister. I poked his side, raising an eyebrow when he looked at me. All I got was a head shake.

Really?

Soon enough we were all seated around the table, the snake was sat on a pillow in the room next door with the clothes that Tohru brought back folded next to him. I was seated between Yuki and Kyo, always a dangerous place to be.

"That was Ayame Sohma" Shigure informed us, "And as I'm sure you noticed, he's the snake"

"Ayame, oh" Tohru murmured.

I scratched my nose, "Isn't Ayame a girl's name?"

The corner of Shigure's mouth twitched, "We'll let him sleep for a while. Snakes naturally hibernate during the winter. I imagine that's part of the reason Aya has always been sensitive to the cold, if he's not careful it can cause him to transform like this." Shigure held up his thumb, pointer, and middle finger with a grin. "Aya, Hatori, and I grew up together. We were in the same classes through grade school, middle school, and high school."

He grasped his chin with a haughty look, "We were inseparable. So much so, that people called us the Three Musketeers!"

"Oh wow!" Tohru clasped her hands under her chin with a look of wonder, "Did they really?"

I rolled my eyes and leaned my chin against my hand, _I feel bad for their poor classmates. _

I could practically hear thoughts along the same line as mine go through Kyo and Yuki's heads. Really, Shigure could be such an idiot sometimes.

The devious dog leaned in close to Yuki with a stupid smile on his face, "Sooo, what did Aya do to upset you so much Yuki?"

His demonic aura was back in a flash, "I won't even say it it's so disgusting"

"Come now, it wasn't so bad!" The most flamboyantly gay voice cried from the other side of the screen, "You could show a little more forgiveness to your own brother!"

"Ehhh?!" I was so shocked that my head slipped off my hand. Since when did Yuki have an older brother?!

Tohru was also shell shocked, "Did he say . . . older brother?"

"Allow me to explain what happened" Ayame said, "I was on my way here, when a sudden chill in the air caused me to transform! In my search for heat I sensed a warm body drawing near and clung to it! I suppose you could say it was instinct" The door slammed open and a man with long white hair draped himself along the door frame, "Greetings everyone" He touched two fingers to his forehead, "And how are you, little brother"

I stared at him, totally caught off guard. He was like, a gay version of Yuki. He had long, beautiful, waist length white hair and eyes that were almost yellow. Like a snakes eyes.

"If we all followed our instincts, I would have snapped you in two when I had the chance!" Yuki said heatedly.

"What's the big deal?" Kyo asked Tohru, "What exactly did he do to you?"

I could guess, but I wasn't going to say it out loud. Knowing Kyo, he _would _snap the man in two, if only on principle.

Tohru turned to him with a conflicted look on her face, "Uh, well, you see, he-"

"Oh" Ayame stepped up while fastening the front of his red dress thing, "Lucky Kyo, I heard you were staying here"

Instantly Kyo's hackles were up. "I told you before! Stop calling me that!"

"Lucky Kyo, you haven't changed-"

"I SAID STOP!"

But his attention was now on Shigure, "It's been far too long, Shigure~"

"Yes, since New Year's" Shigure grabbed his chin with a serious look, "Ayame~"

"What a shame, you haven't forgotten about me while we were apart, have you?"

"Not a day has gone by that you haven't been on my mind, Aya"

Both men put their thumbs up, "YES!"

"No, no, no!" Kyo and Yuki groaned together.

And Hatori had to deal with these two all the time? Poor, poor man. For being brothers, Yuki an Ayame were so opposite they could have been the North and South Pole.

"By the way" Shigure gestured to Tohru and I, "These young ladies are the one and only Amanda Cho and Tohru Honda! You came to see them today right?"

"Hm?" Ayame seemed to be in a different place when reality slammed back in, "Oh yes! That's right!" he bowed with one hand over his chest, touching his shoulder. "I'm sorry about earlier, I am Yuki's older brother, Ayame"

I smiled easily, "Hi, I'm Mandy"

Tohru held her hands to her chest and blushed, "Oh, right! Pleased to meet you!"

"So they really do exist!" Ayame turned away dramatically, "The two princesses I've, heard so much about!"

I let out a little bark of laughter, since when was I a princes? Tohru, I could see that, me? Not so much.

"Two blooming flowers stuck in a house full of stinking men! Are they treating you well princesses?"

"You make it sound like they've been kidnapped. . ." Shigure protested.

"Brother! You're being rude!" Yuki snapped, "Stop making fun of them!"

"Making fun?" Ayame sighed, "Honestly, I mean Tohru and Mandy nothing but complete respect!" He seated himself at the table and patted it, "Now Princes, why don't you bring us some tea? And lunch would be nice."

I really face palmed here, full on smack and drag my hand down my face. How the bloody hell was that the utmost respect?!

Kyo and Yuki snapped angrily, "THAT'S NOT RESPECT!"

"Of course you're right, what was I thinking?" Ayame stood and grasped both our hands, "Come Tohru, Mandy, we're going out to eat!"

"Um, no thanks!" I slipped out of his grasp and hid behind Kyo, "Have fun!"

It didn't even faze the man, he just kept going with Tohru dragging along behind him. I waved goodbye to my friend and silently wished her luck. As soon as the front doors were slammed shut, both boys turned to look at Shigure, with identical looks of anger on their faces.

"Now, now" Shigure laughed nervously, "There's no use getting angry at me!"

I knew boredom couldn't last too long in this house. With a quiet giggle, I stood up and began making one of the few meals I couldn't screw up. Bentos with pickled cucumbers and tea.

And if I heard the pained yelps of a certain dog coming from the other room, I ignored it.

~LINE BREAK~

When Tohru and Ayame arrived back at the house, I hid in the staircase, eavesdropping like my life depended on it.

Yuki meet them at the door, "Oh Miss Honda! You okay?!"

"Uh-huh!" Tohru's cheery voice answered, "Did everyone get something to eat?"

I frowned, wondering where Ayame was. I peeked around the corner. She was clutching the front of her denim dress and smiling weirdly.

"Never mind about that! Did my brother give you any trouble?"

"Oh no, not at all!" Tohru denied, "He bought me a pot sticker plate!" she paused, "Um, Yuki? Well, do you really not like your brother?"

At this point Kyo came walking down the stairs. I held a finger up to my lips and waved him over. He peeked around with me. Resting a hand on my shoulder.

"I mean, I know it's not really any of my business, I was just curious"

Yuki smiled gently, "I wouldn't say I, dislike him, he's just a little too much for me sometimes."

"Well if that's all, we can overcome it!" Ayame's voice came from the front of Tohru's dress, "I will do all in my power to meet you half way!"

That was when Ayame, in snake form, slithered out of Tohru's dress. "Brother!"

Kyo and I both fell in shock, landing at the bottom of the steps next to each other. What the hell?!

"You see, it got really cold on the way back home from the restaurant and he transformed!" Tohru explained quickly, "And he said that if snakes get to cold they can die . . ."

Yuki's head drooped.

"Well, I am a snake" Ayame stated.

"You may be a snake, but you're no brother of mine!"

"Ahahaha! You can't change the truth Yuki!"

"Ah, welcome back you two" Shigure entered the room just as Yuki made a grab for Ayame.

The snake dropped to the floor and began slithering around, avoiding his brothers murderous hands completely. I just sat on the floor and watched the commotion, slightly amused.

"Shigure" Ayame murmured, "Have you picked out a place for me to sleep tonight?"

"Oh, you're staying the night?!"

Oh dear god. We're doomed. . .

~LINE BREAK~

A couple days later we were woken up by screaming coming from Kyo's room. Both Tohru and I jolted up in our beds. There were a few new bruises on Ayame's face at breakfast.

"I'm sorry, but I had no other choice" Ayame told everyone, "Yuki locked the door to his room, so I couldn't sleep in there"

"Why the hell didn't you go sleep in Shigure's room like yesterday?!" Kyo shouted, clutching his chopsticks so hard I thought he was going to break them.

"Because, if I had, Shigure would have kept me up all night again. . ." Ayame said in a sultry tone.

"Aya, not in front of the children, please" Shigure chided.

My right eye started to twitch.

"CUT IT OUT" Kyo yelled, "How much longer are you staying here anyway?!"

"Don't worry" Ayame said, slipping into the seat between Tohru and I, "If it bothers you so much, tonight I'll sleep in the girls' room"

The boys stood straight up, "YOU WILL NOT!"

This was the morning of the third day of Ayame's visit, and I think everyone's tempers were feeling a little frayed. Especially poor Yuki's. Tohru had told me about their conversation at dinner, but I don't think that the brothers have become any closer.

. . .

"Really?! Aya's here?" Momiji beamed, "I haven't seen him since New Year's!"

Tohru and I were standing with Hatsuharu and Momiji out in one of the tennis courts. I was seated next to Haru underneath a tree while Tohru told Momiji about Ayame's visit.

"For the past three days now" I said, smothering a yawn.

"Maybe I'll go visit him!" Momiji paused and touched a finger to the side of his chin, "Oh, then again, he probably just wants to spend some time with Yuki. Which reminds me, how is Yuki?"

I watched Haru trap a yellow butterfly between his hands and murmured, "Not too well, I think-"

Haru's head perked up, "Ah, Yuki!"

Sure enough, Yuki was walking past us with his head bowed down. I don't even think he noticed us. I sighed, his brother visiting was doing its toll on him.

"What?" Momiji asked, "Is he sick?"

"Not exactly" Tohru said

"Don't worry, I get it" Haru stood up, "Yeah, uh-huh. It figures."

"Hey Haru, is it weird for Aya to leave his shop? He is the owner after all" Momiji asked.

"Huh?" Tohru turned the little blonde, "You mean Ayame owns his own business?"

"That's right, he sell's outfits for nurses, stewardesses, maids, stuff like that" Haru informed us.

"So then, he makes uniforms?" Tohru asked.

"Well, uh, not exactly" Haru murmured.

"Aya says he makes fantasies come true!" Momiji beamed.

Oh dear lord, Ayame owned a lingerie and fantasy store. . .

When we got home from school, he was still there, sitting at the table drinking tea.

"My, my, this was unexpected"

"Dammit-" Kyo sighed

"He's still here" Yuki groaned.

I simply waved while Tohru grinned happily. Great. I am so locking our door tonight. . .

"Welcome back!" Shigure greeted us.

"But how nice! You boy's wanted to see me you came straight home from school!" He said with a silly smile, "And here I though Tohru, Mandy, and I would have the whole after noon to ourselves."

I just rolled my eyes and ruffled my hair, a habit I had taken to ever since I got it cut. Ayame was harmless. Even if he did own a shop selling lingerie.

"That's what we were afraid of!" The boys spoke in unison. They had been doing that a lot, ever since Ayame had "Moved in" temporarily.

"What is that you're looking at?" Tohru asked, peering down at the table.

Now that she mentioned it, I noticed the photo album on the table. I could see younger pictures of Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure. Ayame's hair was long even back then too.

"Hm, that?" Ayame said, "Just some old albums of us in our high school days. See, there's Hatori too"

"Ah! I don't believe it! Hatori and Shigure both look so young!" Tohru said in wonder.

I looked closer and smiled, "Is it some sort of rule that the Sohma's have to be attractive? I imagine you three gained a lot of female attention back then"

"Pretty cute weren't we?" Shigure asked, smiling at me and nodding.

"Uh-huh" Tohru nodded.

"So, Ayame, you wore your hair long, even in school?" Tohru asked.

"Yeah, I noticed that too" I tilted my head to the side, "Didn't the student council president have a problem with that?"

Takai would throw a shit fit. . .

"That's right. Of course, I had to bend a few rules. . ." Ayame sipped his tea.

Eh? "They let you do that?"

I was ignored, "Hey Yuki! You come look too!" Ayame held up the book, "Now's your chance to learn something new about your big brother!"

"I'll pass thanks" Yuki rejected the idea.

Ayame sighed, "Then you leave me no choice. I'll simply have to tell you the whole story of how I got to keep my long hair in school. . ."

"WHAT FOR?!" Yuki ground out.

"See, it was the very start of my first year in high school. . ."

By now Tohru, Kyo, and I were reclining on the floor, listening to him speak.

"You like hearing yourself talk, dontcha?" Kyo asked sarcastically.

"My principle was telling me to cut my hair, so I said: I'm sorry sir, but I come from a royal family. I've kept it secret until now, but soon I must return to my own country. And, it is an age old custom that members of the royal family should always wear their hair long and honor the high king ruler Rurabara who, it is said, during his fourth year of his reign was visited by a divine image. It was Conra, who was surrounded by heavenly light of red and gold. Conra began to chant. . ."

That was when he lost me. I mean. Obviously he was just spouting a bunch of crap so that he could keep his hair. His principle probably said he believed him to get him to stop talking.

"And that's how I convinced him to let me keep my hair long!" Ayame finished proudly.

I rolled my eyes, "So, really, you just talked until he ran away bleeding out of his ears?"

Ayame pouted at me, "Really Mandy, I think I'm a wonderful story teller!"

I looked at Kyo, "Yup, he does just like to hear himself talk,"

Kyo gave me a look like, 'no duh', earning a poke in the side from me.

"Y-you're a member of the royal family?!"

I face palmed at Tohru's naivety. Only she would believe the total garbage that had just spouted from Ayame's mouth.

"Duh! He was lying!" Kyo shouted, "Come on!"

Shigure was sitting with his chin resting on his hands, "Hmm, those were the days. . ."

Yuki stuffed his face into his palm, muttering about idiots. I reached around Tohru and patted his shin in sympathy. Thankfully I'm an only child.

"Here's something else I bet you didn't know" Shigure told us, "Aya, was student council president!"

I grinned with Tohru at the instant spark of interest that showed in Yuki's face. The boy actually pulled his face out of his hand.

"Was he really?" Tohru asked, excited.

"He was a natural choice, I suppose" Shigure said, "What with the way he acted, he really was very popular with the other boys, and under his term, many of the old school rules were relaxed. You certainly had a way about you."

Ayame held up his hands, "I don't know, I always thought Hari would have made a much better president than me. Do you remember, the time we all went on that class field trip?"

"Of course, how could I forget?!"

"So . . . what happened?"

I grinned at Tohru and sent an encouraging look at Ayame. If he wanted any sort of progress, now was his chance. While Yuki was interested.

"Hm, yes. Well, you see. There was a group of students who, we'll say, wandered into the red light district. . ."

Um, what?

"Please! Reserve your judgment until I've explained!" Ayame told us, "Although it would have been difficult for any healthy young man to resist this place!"

I slumped, my forehead meeting the table sharply. What in the hell was he thinking?! Saying something like that?!

"We weren't actually the ones who went" Ayame informed us.

"Of course, it's not like we haven't seen it before" Shigure said.

"My god" I rolled my eyes to the ceiling, "It started when they were teenagers. How was Hatori the only one to come out sane?"

"As it happened," Ayame continued, "One of the teachers found out where they'd gone, and then, it was decided that all of the boys who went were to be expelled out of school. Well, naturally, as student council president, I objected!"

"A meeting was called between the students, the parents, the principle, and the teachers involved. I said: For a group of minors to go into the red light district, this is by no means an act to be praised. Laws are put in place to be obeyed, otherwise we lose order. And with that being said, I must also express my concern over what I see as a condemnation of our natural human instincts. I submit that the desires which led these boys astray were fuelled by perhaps the most noble of human instincts!"

"The instincts to procreate the species! Should we damn them for feeling these natural urges?" Ayame got this serious look on his face, "And I said: At this time I would like to offer a proposal. Let us offer a hand of rescue to these wayward boys! Let us help them to understand that sometimes confusing natural desire! From now on, they may deliver their desire toward me!"

Aaaaannndd he's lost me. I fell backwards and stared at the ceiling, not sure whether to laugh or to cry. What the hell was this guy on?! God damn, he's even weirder than Shigure! I glanced at Yuki, and could only describe his expression as one of shock. Yeah, he's totally lost any chance of 'bridging the gap' with Yuki at this point in time.

"And that concludes my wonderful story!"

"YOU MEAN STUPID!" Kyo shouted.

I raised a hand from my position on the floor and pointed at Ayame, "You sir, are not helping any conclusion that I come up with that you're gay."

"Excuse me, but because of that, every one escaped being expelled!" Ayame defended himself.

I rolled my eyes, _like I said before. They probably agreed just to get you to shut up!_

"How so?!" Kyo asked

"Well, after that, Hatori stepped in and said a few words" Shigure said around his teacup, "But Aya was our president until the very end."

"You're kidding!" Kyo exclaimed.

Throughout all of this, Tohru was in a state of silent shock. I reached out and poked her hip. Nothing. I think Ayame managed to break her!

"What do you think Yuki?" Ayame asked his younger brother, "Do you understand your older brother?"

Yuki got this scary sweet smile on his face, "I think you should leave"

"Well, I'll have to do better!" Ayame said, "Let me tell you about the time I kidnapped the school mascot!"

"I really think you should leave" Yuki told him.

Oh my god, they were going to go at it until Yuki snapped and broke Ayame in half!

"Shigure, get rid of him!" Kyo growled.

"But why? This is fun!"

"This is fun!" Ayame agreed enthusiastically.

"YOU'RE KILLING ME HERE!" Kyo yelled.

"Hmm" Shigure rubbed his head, "Even so, I really don't think he'll listen to me. The only person he does listen to is-"

"Hey"

I bounced up in surprise and grinned at Hatori, "Hey there stranger! Long time no see, how are you?"

He nodded at me, "Amanda, I am well. And you?"

"So formal" I teased, then glanced at Ayame. "Uh, well. . ."

"Yes, well, the door was unlocked so I let myself in." He told us.

"Oh, hi Hatori!" Tohru greeted the doctor.

"Speak of the devil!" Shigure laughed.

"Hari!" Ayame exclaimed, "To what do we owe the pleasure!?"

"Hatsuharu" Hatori said, "He told me I should come bring you home"

I smiled softly, Haru knew that Ayame was wearing Yuki down. That kid could be so sweet sometimes. And then he turns into black Haru. Ugh. . .

Hatori blew out a breath, "So what so you say you wrap things up here and we'll go?"

It was silent for a few seconds, and then: "Well then, bye-bye!"

Everyone jaw dropped and simply gaped. Seriously? That's all it took?

Ayame turned to Yuki, "I guess with all the commotion you and I didn't get to talk much-"

"Weren't you the one causing the commotion?" Yuki ground out.

"-But don't worry, you'll see me again, little brother!"

Somehow, I think that's what he's worried about.

"Alright Hari, ready when you are!" Ayame turned to Shigure, "Until next time Shigure"

"Mm! Now it's my turn to visit you!"

"Farewell everyone!" Ayame winked at Tohru before leaving, so are we walking?"

"I brought the car"

"Good, can I drive?"

"No"

All of us heard them leave, with varying expressions of 'What the fuck just happened?' I ruffled my hair with a sigh.

"Well. That was eventful."

"More like annoying" Kyo muttered, he touched his forehead. "What, was that all about?"

"As long as I remember, Hari's been the only one who can tell Aya what to do" Shigure said, "Aya really admires him. He sees a lot of good qualities in Hatori that he's always wished he had in himself. But since he doesn't, he figures staying close to Hari is the next best thing." Shigure picked up the photo album and stared at it, "He actually told me that once, and with a straight face no less." He perked up, "Anyway! Letting Hari boss him around is just one way Aya shows his admiration!"

I laughed, "Well, that's one way to go about it!"

It was quiet for a few seconds, then my stomach gurgled, making me blush. Everyone laughed, Kyo just did that cute crooked smile of his, making me blush harder.

The hell?

"I'll go get started on dinner" Tohru giggled.

After that, the house was almost scary quiet. Shigure, Kyo, and I were relaxing around the table. I draped myself across the table, arms stretched out in front of me and looked at Shigure.

"Gure . . ."

"Don't even say it"

I giggled at the confused look on Kyo's face and laid my cheek on the table. I loved this house.

The next day at school, I was standing in the hallway, conversing with one of the upper classmen, when I heard Yuki walk up to Haru and thank him for worrying about him. I peeked around the corner and managed to catch the sweetest smile on Haru's face. It made me grin and turn back around.

The Sohma kid's really were something else.

* * *

><p>Hey yall, I just wanted to give you this chapter as an extra apology for waiting so long!<p>

I really am a horrible person. . .

nekolover3- I am so glad that you liked this chapter! I'll try and add more fluff as the story goes on, but I gotta be careful to make her realization at just the right spot!

GiraffePanda2- It's always good to hear that my readers like my chapters!

ukitakeitalialover041757- I know right? But I was thinking about some way to get her hair short and make it interesting while I was at work and this came out of the brainstorming! Let's just say that those girls will avoid Mandy like the plague now. I'm glad you like Mandy's and Kyo's relationship. Right now it's just in the really good friends zone, but it will get better!

Alrighty my lovelies, I bid you all a find farewell until next time!

Ja ne!


	20. Grave Parties and Tea

It was a quiet morning before school. We were all splayed around the dining room and the back porch, I was needling Kyo about drinking out of the carton of milk when I remembered something important. I peeked around the screen door onto the dining room.

"Hey Shigure?" He looked up from his paper, "Do you think Tohru and I could go out on May 1st?"

"Of course not! In fact I think I'm going out that afternoon too" Shigure said, he looked at Tohru. "What is it? Spending some time with your friends?"

"Yeah!" Tohru beamed, "It's the first anniversary of mom's death, so we're going to her grave!"

I sighed lightly and sat down next to Kyo, drawing my knees up to my chest. Only Tohru would smile so widely while talking about visiting Kyoko's grave. I jumped when I felt Kyo place his hand on my head and smiled sweetly in response. He blushed lightly, the tips of his ears turning pink.

Kyo was such a sweetheart.

"Ah, the first anniversary of your mother's death" Shigure said somberly.

"Uh-huh, so we thought it might be nice to pay her a little visit." Tohru said.

"I'm sorry I can't join you" Shigure apologized, surprising both me and Tohru.

"Huh? Oh no! Really, it's okay!" Tohru reassured him.

I stood and ruffled Kyo's hair as I passed him, I took the place behind Tohru and laid a hand on her head. "It's sweet of you to say so though, Shigure"

"Miss Honda" Yuki drew our attention, "Would it be okay if I came along?"

Well that's . . . not all that surprising really.

"Oh, y-you don't have to" Tohru told him.

"Really, I want to" Yuki assured her, "I would like to say hello to your mother!"

Tohru absolutely shined, "Thanks! It means a lot! I know it will to mom too!"

Shigure smiled and looked over at the resident cat, "Say Kyo, if you're not doing anything that day you should think about going with them"

That, typically, got no response. I glanced at my watch, "Hey guys, we should get going to school if we want to be on time."

As per usual, Tohru spazzed at the very thought of being late, so we all got in gear to walk to school. It wasn't until later, while Tohru and I were walking with Arisa and Saki between classes that she brought up the visit to Kyoko's grave.

"Ah" Arisa hummed, "So the prince is coming with us, and Kyo?"

I looked up from the manga I was reading and shrugged, "I dunno, he didn't really give an answer. It'd be really nice, but probably not."

"That's too bad." Arisa chuckled, "You know, it's too bad that Kyoko never got to meet that boy. She would have had so much fun giving him a hard time."

I snickered at the thought. Kyo and Kyoko. There's a match made for explosion.

"And I can see it now, after Kyo is so angry he couldn't even speak she would grab him and give him a hug so tight that his spine would snap in two."

Tohru and I shared looks of horror and amusement. Amusement on my part and horror on her part. That would be equal parts of interesting, funny, and horrifying. Mostly funny though.

Saki turned to look out a window, "Strange, it's only been an entire year. But still, it's hard to believe she's gone."

I smiled softly and hugged Saki from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder since we were about the same height. I loved my little witch so much! She rested a hand on mine and leaned her head into mine.

"Yeah, I mean, I still keep expecting her to just show up one day. You know, just all of a sudden going 'Hi! Sorry, sorry' with that big smile of hers." Arisa put a hand to her face, "Ah, what am I saying. That's sure not helping anything is it. Anyway, it only goes to show how great I thought she was" Arisa clenched her hand into a fist, "The Legendary Red Butterfly, terror of the highway!"

"I will always treasure that image of her lightning fast bike, popping wheelies" Saki reminisced.

We all paused to think about the image, then Arisa spoke. "Well, I hope everyone decides to come. That'd be good."

"Yes is would" Tohru smiled sweetly.

. . .

"OH YOU'RE SO SWEET!" I glomped the shit out of her squealing, making her yelp in shock and the other two laugh.

Later, when we were at home, I managed to overhear Kyo shouting a Yuki. You could hear him thundering down the stairs.

"Hey! If you're going to the grave than so am I!"

Yuki was quiet, "Why are you telling me?"

"SHUT UP! I'M GOING AND THAT'S FINAL!"

I giggled quietly and went to tell Tohru the good news.

Kyo was such a grump sometimes.

~LINE BREAK~

On May first I got decked out in my red butterfly gear. I slipped on my black skinny jeans, a pair of black boots with a little heal on them that zipped up on the sides, a silk button up blouse with a red butterfly on the back with its wings spread on my shoulder blades, and a charm bracelet that Kyoko bought me. I ignored the strange look's I got from Kyo and Yuki and held Tohru's hand on the way to the shrine.

"Sorta small for a temple" Kyo stated when we got there.

I reached out and whacked his arm, "Don't be disrespectful!"

"It's nice, isn't it?" Tohru said, "Just a quiet little place."

"Kinda like home" I folded my hands behind my neck with a sigh.

"That's a weird thing to say but alright" Kyo muttered.

"It's not that weird" I denied, "I could have said-"

"Forget I said anything" He sighed.

"You know" Yuki drew our attention, "I'm glad to see that we have such a nice day today. I can say we're pretty fortunate as bad as the weather's been lately."

"Yeah" Tohru agreed, "It's like mom's smiling down on us. After all, she has a lot to smile about, the two of you are coming to visit."

I flashed back to the conversation we had about Kyoko and Kyo and grinned, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Kyoko would have loved you guys. Which is a good thing and a bad thing, because she was a hugger."

The boys shuddered. Ha, pansies.

"Tohru! Mandy!" We turned at the sound of Arisa's voice, grinning and waving. "Good day for visiting a grave, huh?!"

We smiled, "Yes!"

I grinned at Arisa, she was wearing the trench coat that Kyoko gave her. It had a red butterfly on the back, similar to mine. The two of us reached out and bumped knuckles. Then I hugged Saki in greeting.

"What the hell are you wearing?!" Kyo asked sharply.

"What do you mean?"

"We're wearing black, what did you expect?"

"NOT THAT-"

"Miss Uotani," Yuki interrupted Kyo's angriness, "That outfit you're wearing, well, is that a . . . trench coat?"

"Hm7? Yeah, pretty sharp huh?" She turned around to show him the red butterfly on the back, "I inherited this from Kyoko back in the day. You are looking at The Red Legendary Red Butterfly's riding jacket!"

"Red Butterfly?" Yuki blinked, slightly confused.

"That's what they used to call mom back when she was in her gang!" Tohru informed him, rather cheerily too.

We left the boy's in their shock and began walking up the steps of the temple, cheering.

"Alright, everyone's here! Let's get this party started!" Arisa fist pumped the air.

"Ha-ha!" I laughed and threw an arm around Tohru.

We were all surprised, though, when we got to the grave. It had already been cleaned and some incense was burning.

"What the-"I muttered.

"That's weird" Arisa said.

"It's already been cleaned up" Yuki stated, holding the cleaning supplies.

"Guess somebody got here before us"

"Yeah" I nodded, agreeing with Kyo.

"Ah!" Tohru grinned, pointing out the offering on the grave. "It must have been grandfather! He's the only other person I can think of that knows mom's favorite food"

I grinned and ruffled my hair and went to help situate the flowers, "I love that man"

"Your grandfather?" Kyo asked, "Oh, yeah. Him."

"Uh-huh!"

"Which side of the family did you say he was from?" He asked.

"Oh, uh, he's my grandfather on my father's side" Tohru informed him.

The girls and I paused, glancing at each other and then back at them.

"Yeah, Kyoko and her parents weren't exactly on speaking terms" Arisa said.

"They don't even deserve to be called parents" I muttered.

"Your father?" Yuki asked, "How did he-"

"He got sick and just, couldn't get better" Tohru said quickly, "That's what mom told me. I was so small then, I don't really remember too much about him." She crouched in front of the grave, "Hello mom, I . . . came to see you"

Saki, Arisa, and I stood behind her. Saki said, "We all did"

"I guess your grandfather already did all the cleaning, but we can still put these flowers up huh?" Arisa asked.

"Uh-huh" Tohru smiled.

I knelt down in front of the grave and lightly touched my fingers to it, _Hey Kyoko. We brought a couple of friends with us. They've taken us in and now we're living with them. Kinda like one big dysfunctional family. You'd like them, I think. _

_I'm fulfilling my promise to watch out for her and keep her safe, I hope to your standards. She's doing well in school and is working hard at her job. You know, it's weird. I never thought that we'd get this close to the Sohma's, hell, I never thought we'd continue living with them like we have. But, I like it. They are a lot of fun, it's definitely never boring._

I jumped when I heard Kyo's sudden holler. "GYAAAAAAAHHH!"

When I spun around, I saw him gawking at the food Tohru had spread out on a blanket. "What the hell! It's just lunch!"

"Ha-ha Tohru! This is wonderful!"

I joined them all and helped handing out the plates, "Yeah, she was up after everyone went to bed making it all"

"YOU CAN'T HAVE A PICKNIC ON A GRAVE!"

"Huh, what's the big deal?" Arisa asked, "Come on, Kyoko will like it if we make a little noise before we leave!"

I nodded, "It's practically expected!"

"So what if the temple people see you?!" Kyo shouted.

"Bah" I waved a hand dismissively, "They can deal with it. It's not like we're leaving a mess behind."

"This isn't exactly normal" Yuki sighed.

"How the hell are we normal?" I raised an eyebrow at him, I mean, come on. He could turn into the rat form the zodiac. Normal is way off the charts for us. I didn't say that out loud, but he got the picture.

I ignored the conversation between Arisa and Kyo in favor of making the irritable feline a plate with his favorites on it. "Here Kyo"

He sat with a put upon sigh, "Ah, whatever"

Once the meal was well on the way Yuki spoke up, "So, Miss Uotani, I get the feeling you were close to Miss Honda's mother."

"Oh yeah, she was a great friend" Arisa sipped from her cup, "But, you know, she was my idol way before we ever meet. She was a legend."

"Waddya mean a legend?" Kyo asked.

"Like I said, the Legendary Red Butterfly!"

"Like _I _said, Waddya talkin about?!"

"Delicious" Saki murmured, eating the omelet Tohru made.

"See, they say whenever Kyoko rode her bike, all you'd see were her tail lights just flash right by you, like a red butterfly tearing ass into the night!" Arisa explained.

"How do tail lights look like a butterfly?"

"What? You've gotta be kidding! Don't you have any imagination?!"

"Mmm, this is delicious too"

I laughed and smiled at Tohru. She smiled back before gazing at her mother's grave softly. I sighed and let the sun bath my face, it really was like Kyoko was smiling down in us.

Later, when we were all packed up and ready to go, I held Tohru's hand and we walked between the boy's, Kyo on my side and Yuki on Tohru's. We said goodbye to Arisa and Saki and began the trek back home, talking and laughing all the way.

When the boys went inside the house, Tohru and I took a seat out on the back deck with nice cups of tea. Enjoying the last rays of daylight.

"Ah" Tohru sighed happily, clutching her tea. "There's nothing quite like relaxing with a cup of hot tea at the end of a long day" she beamed at me, "And especially after we had such a nice visit"

I smiled back, sipping my own tea. "Mhm, I'm sure Kyoko loved it. It was so much fun, Kyo and Arisa made enough noise to satisfy her."

She giggled and stared up at the sky, speaking to her mother more than likely. I sipped my tea and sighed, _I hope you enjoyed our visit Kyoko. We sure did._

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><p>AAAAAAHHHHH!<p>

I am so sorry, I was a dumb ass and locked myself out of my own computer and had to take it to Best Buy and have the Geek Squad unlock it for me. I called them the Nerd Patrol today. . . oopsie. So's, enjoy this chapter please.

And review.

. . .

REVIEW!

Oh! And I got a new kitten! His name is Kyo! Bu53265652656856534236859m,jmjujkyhujklouj. . . .

Sorry, that was my bes friend being a ho. . .

Anywhodle, he's not even orange. . . but I love that name, and he's a little shit. . .

REVIEW!


	21. The Secret Of The Parents

**Oh, I suppose I must do this.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not and will never own any of the characters that were the creation of Natsuki Takaya**

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><p>"Thanks so much for coming to visit with me yesterday!"<p>

I smiled fondly when Tohru bowed in thanks to Arisa, Saki, and I. When was that girl going to learn that she didn't need to keep thanking us for stuff? Kyoko, for intents and purposes, was my mother. I couldn't, not, go visit her.

"Hey. . ." Arisa smiled, "Come on, we should be thanking you! Especially for all the food you made."

"Yeah, if I keep eating like that, I'm not gonna fit into my uniform" I gestured to my sailor suit and knee length skirt.

"Yes Tohru, your cooking keeps getting better and better" Saki looked to me, "And your deserts get more delicious every time we have them. You're both going to make fine brides someday" She turned her head, suddenly gloomy. "I'm going to cry"

Eh?! I opened my mouth to say something but Arisa just shook her head at me, she rolled her eyes as if to say, 'Don't worry about it'.

"TOHRU! PANDA!"

"Huh?" Tohru and I turned to find Momiji pelting towards us. I instinctively held my hands out in front of me to make sure he didn't ram into Tohru and me and cause a scene.

"Hide me! Hide me!" He gripped my hands in his and pulled me so I was shielding him. From what though, I don' know.

"Momiji!" Tohru exclaimed, laughter in her voice.

"What are you up to?" I scolded lightly, mostly to happy to see my favorite rabbit to be upset.

"We're playing cops and robbers!" He beamed, "I'm the robber!"

Another young boy started climbing through one of the windows, "Momiji, give it up. You're busted!"

Laughing, Momiji started running back down the hall. "They found me! Gotta run!"

"Momiji!" Tohru called out.

"Be careful!" I cried, "Watch where you're running!"

"Hey! He's getting away!" The other boy shouted, "Come on you guys! Let's go!"

A second later a pack of first years were running after the rabbit like a pack of dogs.

"How bout that" Arisa said.

"It looks like fun" Saki murmured.

"Be . . . be careful. . ." Tohru all but whimpered.

"But I don't know why they're calling it cops n' robbers." Arisa told us, amusement evident in her voice. "It just looks like a bunch of boys chasing a girl to me"

I snickered, because it was the truth. Momiji did look like a girl. Especially when he wore the girl's uniform.

"He must look like his mother" Saki said softly.

I tilted my head a little, "That would make sense."

"Oh yeah, that's what they say isn't it?" Arisa asked, "Guys look like their mom's, and girls look like their dad's."

"Yes." Saki agreed, "Just like Tohru resembles her father, more than her mother."

I grinned, "More like her grandfather I think"

Tohru laughed, slightly embarrassed by our words. I smiled and patted the top of her head affectionately.

"Now that I think about it, Momiji's parents didn't come to the entrance ceremony, did they?" Arisa asked.

I frowned, that's right. I didn't see anybody who looked remotely like him there at all. Same went for Haru too.

"The white haired boy's parents didn't come either" Saki pointed out.

"Oh" Tohru frowned, "I guess they didn't."

~LINE BREAK~

Later that night, I managed to convince Kyo and Yuki to let me pick Tohru up alone. I had some things I wanted to think about, mostly about the fact that none of the Sohma's ever talked about their parents. It was kind of strange. A boy like Momiji? He would tell everyone about his parents, so why had he never mentioned them?

I waited outside the building where Tohru worked, leaning against the street railing. Did they have parents? Were their parents mean to them? What was going on? I, personally, would never avoid going to my own child's entrance ceremony. That was just a no no.

I was so deep in my own thoughts that I didn't notice Tohru and Momiji exit the building. So I nearly jumped out of my skin when two hands suddenly gripped my sweater and I was looking into the soft brown eyes of Momiji Sohma.

"Mi-miji!" I cried out, smiling slightly. That is, until I noticed that both his eyes, and Tohru's were slightly red and swollen. Like they had been crying.

"Hey, hey" I reached out to grip Tohru's shoulder and cupped Momiji's cheek with the other, "What's the matter? Did something happen? Are you two okay?" I looked down at Momiji, "Do I need to call Hatori?"

Momiji let out a little giggle and looked at Tohru, "I think Mandy will be a great mother one day, don't you Tohru?"

"Wh-what?!" I stammered, blushing profusely. "Where on earth did that come from?"

Tohru nodded in agreement, "I think Mandy will make a wonderful mother someday, it's just how she is."

I spluttered incoherently before sighing in defeat. "You two. Alright, we'd better get home, I don't want Yuki and Kyo to decide to come looking for us." I frowned at Momiji, "Should you be walking home alone this late at night?"

"Don't worry Mandy" He assured me, "I called Ha'ri before we left the building, he's on his way"

I frowned and pulled out my phone to text Shigure, telling him that Tohru and I were going to wait with Momiji until Hatori came to pick him up. I got a reply instantly.

_Alright! Be safe, and don't do anything I wouldn't do! ;) _

Idiot.

"Well, we'll wait with you" I told him, "Besides, I wanted to talk to you anyway. We didn't get to have a very long conversation today"

He smiled and said, "You're probably wondering why I'm here aren't you?"

"Actually, yeah. I was" I told him.

"His father owns the building" Tohru informed me, looking slightly dazed by the revelation.

"Really?" I asked, looking at them both, "Dang, the Sohma's are everywhere aren't they?"

That got a laugh out of them both, getting rid of any traces of sadness that was left on their faces. I smiled inside, good, neither of them should look like the weight of the world is on their shoulders.

We chatted for maybe another five minutes before a black car with tinted windows pulled up in front of us. I gripped Momiji's hand tighter until the window rolled down to reveal Hatori. Relaxing, I smiled warmly at the Doctor.

"Hiya Doc, how's it going?" I asked.

"I am well, how are you two?" Hatori nodded to us, "I received a phone call from Shigure saying you two were going to be out here. Get in, I'll give you a ride home."

I placed a hand over Tohru's protesting mouth, "Alright, thank you Hatori"

Momiji and Tohru took the back seat, so I was in the front with the stoic doctor. I jumped when Momiji popped his head up between the seats.

"Miji" I scolded lightly, "You need to be more careful!"

"Don't you think Mandy would make a good mother Ha'ri?"

I gaped at the rabbit, blushing like crazy again. "Not that it isn't nice that you two have such faith in my future mothering abilities, but that's not happening for a while yet." I reached over and patted his cheek, "Besides, I've got you boys and Tohru to mother over. That's enough for me right now."

I nearly missed the sadness that flashed through his eyes, but I caught it. "What's the matter sweetie? Did I say something wrong?"

Momiji suddenly through his arms around what little of me he could reach, which was enough to cause a transformation, and poofed. I gasped and blinked the smoke out of my eyes. Hatori, calm as ever, didn't miss a beat. He just rolled the windows down to let out the smoke.

"Momiji" Hatori scolded, "You need to be more careful when doing that"

I sifted through the clothes in my lap and pulled out a yellow rabbit with red eyes, I didn't worry about reprimanding him. I was more worried about why he hugged me in the first place.

"Miji? Did I say something wrong?"

"Nope." He snuggled into my lap, "You said just the right thing"

Okay. Now I was confused. A glance over my shoulder showed Tohru staring through the car window, teary eyed. What in the hell was going on?!

Later that night, after everyone was asleep, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of milk. I was still stewing over everything today. Tohru and Momiji had been acting really strange.

I was half way through my glass when Kyo came slouching into the kitchen. He ruffled his hair and yawned, "What're you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing" I smiled slightly at his ruffled appearance, idly thinking he looked adorable when he was tired.

Kyo went straight to the fridge and pulled out his carton of milk, "Yeah, well, I asked you first"

I sighed, swirling my milk around in the glass. "I'm thinking about stuff, and I can't get to sleep because my brain won't stop thinking."

He lowered the milk carton, "What're you thinking about?"

I set my glass on the counter and hopped up beside it, sighing and blowing my fringe out of my eyes. How would I put this?

"Well, earlier today Arisa and Saki pointed something out that had me thinking. And then when I went to pick Tohru up from work, Momiji was there. He did something that made me think about it even more."

Kyo tilted his head like a cat, indicating for me to continue talking. "Arisa and Saki pointed out that Haru and Momiji's parents were a no show at the entrance ceremony. That got me to thinking, I realized that none of your parents showed up."

"Oh"

The word was flat, discouraging me from talking. But, I needed to talk to someone about this, and Kyo was right here. . .

"I. . . It just made me think about my mom" I fiddled with a stray string hanging off my pants, "And about how I would be if I had children."

Kyo cleared his throat awkwardly, "I'm sure you'd be a great mom"

I laughed a little, "Yeah, well. Thing is, Momiji said that too. I don't know, that's not really where I was going with this."

Kyo crossed his arms and frowned, "Where were you going with this?"

I was reluctant to say anything to that, knowing how sensitive Kyo could be sometimes. One wrong word and he fly off the handle, I don't want him pissed at me for saying something stupid.

He relaxed with a sigh, coming over to lean against the counter next to me. "I don't know much about Haru's parents. I've never met them and he never talks about them. Momiji's Dad is a Sohma by blood and knew about the curse. His mom was from Germany, they met in college. . ."

He paused and looked at the ceiling, "A child cursed by the zodiac is always born two months early. The mother usually branches one of two ways, they either over protect and smother their kid or reject it completely. Momiji's mom was one of the ones that rejected their kid completely. She asked Hatori to erase her memories of her only son."

I was silent, in too much shock to even cry. Kyo kept talking.

"I've only ever seen that damn Yuki's mom once from a distance, and she seemed like a bitch" He took a deep breath, "I had a mom and a dad. My mom was one of the ones that were over protective and smothering, my dad could barely even look at me. One day, after she couldn't take it anymore, my mom killed herself"

I gasped, "Oh Kyo . . ."

He kept going like he couldn't hear me, "My dad, he blamed me for it. Because I was the cat. That's when my master came along. He took me in and raised me, he's probably the closest thing I have to a father."

I blinked, causing the water that filled my eyes to over flow. Before he could see it, I leaned down and rested my cheek against his shoulder, gripped the back of his shirt by the shoulder blade and gripped his wrist with the other. He was tense for a second before relaxing and resting a hand on my head. The only way I could hug him without him turning into a cat.

Something I don't think he'd appreciate right now.

"I . . ." I swallowed roughly, "I'm sorry for bringing it up Kyo, I shouldn't have said anything."

"Nah" He dismissed my apology, "You can . . . you can talk to me if you need to."

I sat up with a watery giggle, wiping at my cheeks and knuckling my eyes. "Jeze, I'm such a crybaby."

When I looked up, there was an expression of abject terror on Kyo's face. It was so goofy looking that I burst into a fit of laughter, stifling the sound with my hands. "Oh dear, is the big bad Kyo afraid of crying girls?"

He spluttered before storming out of the kitchen blushing. Still laughing, I poured my now warm milk down the drain and stuck the carton back in the fridge. I was in a much better mood after getting all that off my chest, and it warmed my heart that Kyo felt he could trust me enough to tell me about a subject as painful as his parents.

I flicked the light off and made my way upstairs to the bedroom Tohru and I were sharing, intent on sleeping. I jumped about a foot in the air when Kyo poked his head out of the door to his bedroom.

"Goodnight Mandy" He was flushed around the cheeks.

I smiled back, "Goodnight Kyo, and umm. . ." I blushed, "Thank you, for, you know, trusting me"

Escape! I flashed him one last smile and slipped into the bedroom. What the hell had possessed me into saying that?! God, I was such a yutz.

It still didn't stop the warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach when I finally drifted off to sleep.

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><p><strong>OH MY GOD<strong>

**I AM SO SORRY!**

**I had a serious writers block and couldn't put down anything for this until yesterday and today. I feel so horrible for not writing anything for you guys in so long. I wont give you any excuses and I'll just hope that you all will forgive me for being a negligent Authoress.**

**Please?**

**Review for me?**

**Constructive criticism is welcome, but any and all flames will be deleted. Just a quick warning before hand.**


	22. To the Lake House, and Jason?

"Here you go!"

I smiled at Tohru and took the first sip of the miso soup she'd made with rice for dinner, ah, as always, her food was delicious.

Suddenly the sliding door that separated the rest of the house from the dining room and the kitchen slid open, Shigure popped his head inside.

"Here's an idea! What do you say we go on a trip tomorrow?"

"Huh?"

He ignored our questioning looks and sat down at the table with us, "After all, this is golden week. It would be a shame if we didn't do something special. Chances like this don't come very often."

"What kinda crazy talk are you spewin over there?" Kyo asked, slightly annoyed. "You drunk or something?"

I pointed my chopsticks at the resident dog, "That, sir, is a valid question"

Shigure grasped his chin, laughing. "No, and even if I had been drinking, it wouldn't effect me."

"Only because you always seem like you're drunk" Yuki said coolly.

I winced, "Ouch, would you like some ointment for that burn?"

"At any rate" Shigure continued, ignoring the muffled snort from Kyo. "I thought we could go to one of the Sohma spas or perhaps the lake house." He looked at Tohru and I, "How does that sound girls?"

Tohru started spazzing out before I could talk, "Oh, but I've already been on a trip to the hot springs! I couldn't go on another one, it would be too much!"

I couldn't deny that I really liked the idea of going to a lake house, it sounded like a lot of fun, but we had already gone on a trip to the hot springs, like Tohru said. Would it be too much to also go to a lake house?

As if he could see the indecision warring on my face, Shigure turned to Tohru. "And what a lovely trip that must have been, it's too bad I wasn't able to be there. I did so want to go, but now I guess I'll never get to take a trip with you two."

I rolled my eyes as he started to fake sob, playing the guilt trip on Tohru.

"Okay, I'll go!" Tohru beamed.

I rolled my eyes, "Sounds like fun"

Shigure held up his fingers in a peace sign, grinning happily at winning.

"Have you no shame?!" Yuki and Kyo cried.

"Not really" Shigure said without remorse, making me giggle. "Anyway, I assume the two of you will want to come? You wouldn't make me, Tohru, and Amanda spend all of that time by ourselves, would you?" the boys got a strange look on their faces, "Of course, if we _have_ to go alone, that's fine by me."

Something in their faces made Shigure smile, "_Good_! Now that that's settled I thought it might be fun to travel by car. Don't worry, leave all the driving to me!"

"Shigure, do you even have a license?" Yuki asked blandly.

Shigure paused as if to think about it, "Of course I have a license!"

"Why'd you have to think about it?" Yuki, Kyo, and I chorused.

~LINE BREAK~

We all decided to go to the lake house! But, as it turned out, Shigure was a crap driver. Hatori, thankfully, decided to intervene and drive us to the lake house so we didn't all die. The car ride was a little crowded. Tohru got the seat in the back between Kyo and Yuki, while I was stuck in the front seat between Shigure and Hatori.

Weird thing was though, nobody but Shigure and Tohru spoke the whole way there. It was like Kyo and Yuki were angry or something. Like either Tohru or I had done something wrong.

It was kinda freaking me out.

Once we got to the house, and damn if it didn't look freaking expensive, Tohru, Yuki, and Hatori crowded the window facing the lake.

"Oh wow" Tohru murmured, "Just look at that lake! It's so beautiful, and big too!"

"I don't know that it's really that impressive" Hatori replied.

"Oh" Tohru smiled, "Well, this is the first time I've ever really been to a lake"

I smiled at the way Yuki was looking at Tohru, with a sort of tenderness. "Yeah," I joined the conversation, "It's a first for the both of us. So it's kinda special"

A dark chuckle came from Shigure, "Just be careful Jason doesn't get you while you're here"

I rolled my eyes. Jason was some masked guy with a machete fetish from an American horror movie. He always killed the stupide people and the teenagers having sex. The only idiotic one here was Shigure, so I think we're all safe.

"Don't even start with your nonsense" Yuki told him.

"I'm sorry, did you say Jason?" Tohru asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"Jason, Jason. . . Jason. . . Why does that name sound familiar?" Kyo asked.

I opened my mouth to answer when Shigure cut over me, "Jason is a giant bear they say lives by the lake," He smiled mischievously, "You don't know much do you?"

Kyo shot up from his relaxed position on the floor, "SHUT UP! I KNEW THAT!"

"No you didn't" Hatori shot him down.

"Oh" Tohru said, "So, what kind of bear is he?"

"My god" I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose, "Shigure, you idiot"

He fanned himself with the paper fan he always carried, "Hmhm"

Kyo looked at Shigure irritably, "Why are we talking about this any way? You didn't bring us all the way out here to talk about a bear did you?"

"Yes, why did you bring us here?" Yuki asked, "I suddenly get the feeling you're up to something."

"Ah you two" Shigure sighed, "Always so suspicious. All I wanted was for everyone to come have a nice, relaxing time at the lake. And you think I'm up to something. Instead of standing around sniffing out conspiracies, why don't try to find a more productive way to spend your time. Like say, taking the girls for a walk?"

There was an awkward silence where the two boys glared at each other out of the corner of their eyes, "Why the long faces you two? Is a walk such a bad idea?"

"No, it's okay" Tohru said

I nodded, "We really don't mind going by ourselves"

Shigure tapped the fan against his chin, "You know, it's just too tense in here. What we really need is someone to come lighten the mood. I know! I'll call Aya!"

He just put his hand on the phone when two demonic auras filled the room.

"If you do that" Yuki said in a dangerously quiet voice.

"I'll make you eat that phone" Kyo finished darkly.

So, the four of us went on a walk around the lake. Tohru and I trailing behind the slightly tense teens in front of us. I followed with my hands in the pocket of my blue jeans, watching the boys walk. What in the world had them so tense? It was strange, and even stranger was the fact that neither of them had even fought once today.

I was beginning to expect to see flying pigs,

Tohru made a noise that had the boys turning back to her, "I'm very sorry!" She bowed, baffling us all. "I don't really know what happened, but-but if there's something I said or something I did to make you upset, please just tell me what it is! Really, it's okay if you do!"

"Miss Honda?" Yuki asked, "What brought this on?"

"Yeah" Kyo stepped up, "What the heck are you talking about- yeow!"

I jumped forward with Tohru when he tripped over something, "Kyo! Are you okay?"

"Dammit" He growled, "I'm fine, I just stepped in a hole"

I looked at the hole he stepped in, which coincidentally, looked like a paw print. Tohru stuttered, "That looks like . . . a paw print!" She began panicking, "It's Jason!"

"JASON?! WHERE?!" Kyo shouted

"Jason!"

I rolled my eyes and shared a look with Yuki, "It's not Jason" We chorused.

"This is terrible! It's dangerous! We have to go back! We have to go back now, it's not safe here, come on-"Tohru slipped on a rock and tripped backwards down the hill.

"Tohru!" I screamed.

Yuki and Kyo flung themselves after her, pulling her into themselves so she wouldn't get hurt. They ended up in a pile of girl, clothes, and animals. I snapped out of my shock and began sliding down the hill, glad that I had worn sneakers.

"Miss Honda, are you hurt?" Yuki asked

"Oh my god! Are you guys okay?" I landed on my knees next to Tohru, "You're not hurt are you?!"

I heard nothing but her miserable voice saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! No, but I'm sorry!"

"Yeah well, just watch where you step next time" Kyo sighed.

"I know, I know!" She stood up, "I'll go get your clothes. I'll be right back."

"Watch where you step, oh that's very good advice coming from the one who tripped first you moron" Yuki dusted off his little mouse knee's.

"Like you're one to talk!" Kyo hissed back, "We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't gotten in my way! The only reason I transformed is because I tripped over your clumsy ass!"

I watched them argue, feeling a weird sense of relief and rightness in the action. This was better, it wasn't so tense and depressing. It was kind of weird that I had actually missed them arguing with each other. Maybe I was sick, who knew?

When I tuned back in, Yuki was up in a high branch and Kyo was scratching at the trunk of the tree shouting at him. Next thing I knew, Yuki was surrounded by little rats.

"Look at you! Calling all your little rat friends to help you huh!"

Yuki slouched, a baby rat on his head. "You know I didn't call them, they just decided to come here on their own." He sighed, "But I don't see any cat's coming to help you! I guess you have no friends here either!"

Tohru joined us and shared a relieved smile with me, these were the friends we knew and loved. Suddenly a giggle escaped me, and then I couldn't help, I started to laugh. Tohru joined me after a second and the fighting cut off.

"I'm sorry, it's just . . . you're fighting" Tohru laughed.

"Oh dear, I can't-"

"Miss Honda? Miss Cho?" Yuki questioned.

"What's going on?" Kyo asked.

"I'm sorry for laughing" Tohru apologized, "I mean, there's really nothing funny about fighting, but, for some reason, I was watching you two and I just couldn't help myself."

"We couldn't help ourselves" I said, still giggling. "It's just, you two were acting so strange before, and then we saw you fighting, and it's like, 'Awe, their back to their normal selves!' We were worried about you two." I smiled, "We were so relieved that we couldn't help but laugh."

"Pretty silly huh?" Tohru wiped tears off her cheeks and began laughing again, causing me to as well.

"Miss Honda listen, about what you were saying, before we all fell" Yuki said, "I'm not angry with you, I'm sorry if I seemed upset. I've just had a lot on my mind is all. Really, it had nothing to do with you. I don't usually like to let people see me that way, but around you two, I've gotten to feel so comfortable that I guess I let my guard down."

"I didn't even realize I'd done it. If anything, it's a sign of how much I've come to like you."

"Oh you don't have to-"

Yuki stepped up and rested his paws on her knee, "But I hope everything's alright now Miss Honda" He looked over at me, "Miss Cho, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've made you two worry."

"Yeah same here" Kyo glanced at me, "I wasn't mad at you either, I guess I just had a lot of other stuff on my mind too."

"Small mind that it is" Yuki murmured to us past his paw.

"YA DAMN RAT!" Kyo lunged for him just as smoke poofed out from them.

Tohru and I squeaked before turning our backs on them so they could get dressed, the both of us blushing like ripe tomatoes.

"Um, you know, I should apologize" Tohru suddenly spoke up, "I guess I sort of, made a big deal out of nothing, didn't I?" She laughed and pressed a hand to her head, "But, in a strange way, I'm sort of glad that all of this happened the way it did. Um, not to say that I'm glad that you're upset or anything, it's just. . ."

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "We're happy that you two feel comfortable enough with us that you can let your guard down around us. You guys don't feel like you need to hide it if you're bothered by something or upset. It's okay to relax when it's the four of us, if you want."

"And the next time I feel you two are upset, I won't say a word about it. No, wait, that sounded weird" Tohru paused, "Not to say I won't try to help you if I can, I just mean I won't make such a big deal because I'm worried that something's changed between us."

"Nothing's changed" Yuki denied

"Yeah, nothing's changed" Kyo sighed

They came into view in front of us and jabbed a thumb at the other, "Except now I hate him more than ever"

There was an awkward silence for two seconds before Kyo exploded, "OH YA THINK SO?!"

"So do you apparently"

"Well for your information, I already hated you more than anything in the world!"

"That's funny, I feel the same way"

Their fighting only encouraged us to laugh more, I leaned against Tohru and giggled so hard I was crying. They turned surprised faces to us, obviously wondering about our sanity. Though it may be weird to be thankful for their fighting, I'm grateful that things are finally back to normal.

"Well, it looks like it's getting late. We should get back" Yuki pointed out.

"Yeah, we'll go to the lake tomorrow" Kyo said reluctantly.

"Okay!" Tohru agreed cheerfully.

I stood, grinning at Kyo. "Yeah, but remember" I wiggled my finger at Kyo, "Beware of Jason!"

I was chased by Kyo the entire way back to the lake house, laughing my ass off. Lets just say he found out I was very, very ticklish.


	23. A Swimming Snake?

"So, you're going down to the lake?" Shigure asked, then turned to Kyo, who was hanging out of the window. "Better be careful Kyo, don't fall in."

"LIKE I WOULD!" Kyo turned, practically spitting.

"Oh!" Tohru leaned around Yuki, "Goodbye Hatori, we'll see you in a little while. . ."

Tohru and I walked over to check on him when she got no response, he was sleeping. Passed out with a book on his chest. I smiled softly at the sight he made, sleeping with the look of no troubles on his face.

"What is it? Is he sleeping over there?" Shigure wondered.

"Uh-huh" I said quietly as Tohru trotted out of the room.

"I didn't think Hatori slept" Kyo and Yuki stood on either side of me.

"Really Kyo, he's only human, he has to sleep sometime" Shigure said, slightly condescending.

"I know that" Kyo snapped, "That's not what I meant, I'm just sayin he doesn't seem like the kinda guy who'd fall asleep in front of people."

"Ah, well, it is unusual. I'll give you that"

I raked a hand over my hair, "Then it's like a complement" I said softly, "He trusts us not to do anything stupid" I slanted a look at Shigure, "Weird"

"Hey" Pouted Shigure.

Tohru came trotting back in carrying a green blanket, "Oh here, I got a blanket. I'd really hate for him to catch a cold or anything."

Gently, I extracted the book from his hand on his chest and set it on the table while Tohru covered him up. "Good idea Ru, it'd be pretty sad for the good doctor to get a cold"

"Tohru, Mandy, you truly are amazing" Shigure smiled dreamily, "I envy the man who marries either of you some day,"

Tohru turned bright red and waved her hands in front of her face, "Oh, no really!"

I rubbed the back of my head at the compliment, blushing lightly. "Yeah, right. . ."

A hand landed on mine and Tohru's shoulders, "Yes, you deserve our compliments! We could all learn something from these beautiful souls!"

There was a stunned silence in which all of us froze. I knew that voice, it was Ayame, Yuki's older brother. The man was in his usual white under slip and red over coat buttoned to the throat. I slanted an annoyed look at Shigure, being as he was the only one who would have called him. He only smiled and winked at me. Damn dog. . .

"Ahahahaha!" Ayame began rubbing the top of a shocked Tohru's head, "What's the matter? You all look so surprised!"

"It's because you appeared out of nowhere!" Yuki shouted

"And we're the last person we want to see!" Kyo yelled, "How the hell did you get in here?!"

"Come now Kyo, is it so difficult to figure out?" Ayame asked in a low, velvet voice. "If your brain was working, you'd know I came in through the door naturally"

"DAMMIT, DON'T YOU EVEN START WITH ME!"

"Oh, Ayame" Tohru stuttered, "What a-"

"NO! You'll only encourage him, and he's not staying!" Yuki stood in front of Tohru as if to shield her from his brother.

"Children, I understand that my sudden arrival has you delirious with excitement, but I shall have to tell you, I wouldn't be standing before you now if a certain someone hadn't told me you were here."

"Certain someone?" Yuki and Kyo chorused, turning to glare at Shigure.

I rolled my eyes and spared a look for the sleeping Doctor on the couch. Surprisingly, he was still passed out. I shook my head, slightly envious of him.

I wish I could sleep through Ayame. Don't get me wrong, he meant well, he just had a . . . draining personality.

"Oh no" Shigure denied, "It wasn't me, really it wasn't!"

"Don't worry Shigure, let them stare, I'm here now! When even the rest of the world shall turn against you, I will always stand by your side!" Ayame reached out to Shigure, who did the same.

"Aya! You are my strength in adversity!"

They lost me when they started speaking French to each other. I barely knew enough Spanish to tell someone I don't speak Spanish.

"Seriously?" I rolled my eyes to the ceiling, "Why do you continue to test us?"

"Will you quit goofing around and tell us why you're here?!" Kyo snapped, shouting at the white haired man.

"Patience, patience my dear boy" Ayame told him, "After all, as my old high school drama teacher used to say, 'A man's true strength stands in the friends who support him' wise words" He and Shigure touched their fingers together.

Silence. . .

"And what's your point . . . exactly?" Yuki asked.

Aya was silent, "Hmm. . . I'm not sure"

"Then why'd you say it?!" Kyo, Yuki, and I chorused loudly.

Kyo was on his hands and knees, "Oh man, I can't take much more of this, you're killing me. Do us all a favor will ya? Go away."

"That's just rude" Ayame said, affronted. "And besides, there's something I have to do." He grabbed Yuki's hands, "Yuki, while I'm here is a perfect chance for us to deepen our bonds as brothers."

"I have a better idea, why don't I drown you in the lake?" Yuki told him, acid dripping from his voice.

"Anything you want" Ayame agreed, "As long as it gives us some quality time together"

"On second thought, go drown yourself"

I gently pulled Yuki away from his brother, "Now, now Yuki. Homicide is generally frowned upon. Especially between family members."

He looked particularly down about that.

Hatori came up behind Ayame and put his hand on his head, "After everything that I've told you, you're still causing trouble, aren't you?"

"Oh, Hatori!" Tohru exclaimed

"We thought you were sleeping" I told him, slightly regretful.

"I was" He told us, "But how can anyone sleep with all this noise?"

"Hey good morning Ha'ri, so good to see you!" Ayame said, exuberantly.

"Sorry about waking you up" Shigure told him, completely unapologetic.

"I guess we didn't realize we were being so loud! HAHAHAHA!"

Poor Hatori was wiggling his finger inside his ear, obviously annoyed with the two men. "Oh shut up. Ayame, what are you doing here?"

"Eh? Well, I was paying a visit to the main house when one of the servants, I don't remember his name, he was an older gentleman, he told me that you had gone to the lake. Naturally I didn't want to miss out on the fun, so, here I am."

Hatori sighed, "In any event, Yuki, Kyo, weren't you planning to take Amanda and Tohru for a walk around the lake today?"

I carded my hand through my short hair, "We were, but then we got sidetracked by a snake"

Ayame rested his arm on my shoulders, "Oh, a walk around the lake. That does sound like a nice idea, but I think I should go along to help you escort Miss Tohru and Miss Amanda. You know, you can never be too careful these days, what with all those weirdo's out there around the world."

I rolled my eyes, because seriously, like this man was one to talk. He owned and ran a lingerie store. He was _so _normal. Not.

"Oh, ah, thank you!" Tohru spazzed, "But I think we'll be alright and we really should be going. Ha-ha . . ."

We quickly set out for the lake, eager to leave Yuki's brother behind. It didn't take long to get there, and when we did, the view was gorgeous.

"Hm, a gorgeous view like this, you almost can't help but smile"

I would have agreed with Tohru, if it weren't from the miserable aura's coming from Yuki and Kyo. They were standing behind us, obviously brooding about the new arrival.

"That bastards going to be here all night" Yuki growled.

"He's your brother, isn't he?" Kyo pointed out, "So do something about it"

"Believe me, if I could I would." Yuki told him, "I _hate_ the way he always hides behind Shigure"

"Yeah that's a good one" Kyo scoffed, "You use Shigure to hide behind Akito."

I winced at that, knowing that it was going to get real ugly, real fast.

"That's not the same at all" Yuki snarled, "You should shut up until you know what you're talking about!"

"I didn't even want to know that much!" Kyo shouted, "But I can't get away from you, you're every damn place I go!"

"So why don't you disappear for another four months?!"

"Now you're talkin! I would love to disappear! I would rather be any other place in this world that this stupid lake!"

I winced as he said that.

"You think I want to be here? Coming to the lake was the worst mistake of my life!"

And ouch again.

Suddenly Kyo looked away, "Heh, we're doing it again, aren't we?"

Eh? They were on us a second later.

"Miss Honda, Miss Cho, it's not how it sounds!" Yuki said hurriedly.

"Don't get the wrong idea" Kyo urged.

"I didn't mean that coming to the lake with you two was is bad!"

"I just don't want to be here with this guy!"

"Oh, uh, I see?" Tohru stuttered.

I let out a chuckle, "You two are something else"

"So, you're okay right?" Yuki asked, facing the lake away from us.

"Yeah, you're not getting the wrong ideas are you?" Kyo did the same, hands on his hips.

I shared a smile with Tohru, they just didn't want us to think that our relationships have changed. They wanted to be sure we understood they only hated each other and not us. We ran up to stand with them. Tohru between them, and me on Kyo's free side.

"Isn't the lake beautiful?" Tohru asked.

"Absolutely" I agreed happily.

"Let's try walking along the shore for a little while, can we?" Tohru asked.

"Sure" Yuki agreed, smiling at her. I noticed a light blush on his cheeks and grinned.

I grinned and stripped off the hoodie I was wearing, revealing the top piece to a two piece swimsuit. It was black and like a regular undershirt, but with a built in bra. I dropped my jeans to show the spandex shorts that went with it.

"Walk all you guys want!" I shouted over my shoulder as I dashed to the lake, "I'm going for a swim!"

~LINE BREAK~

On the way back to the house, we were laughing and chatting. No more depressed silence and dark brooding.

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten lost" Yuki goaded Kyo

"SHADDUP! I WASN"T LOST!"

I laughed at the two, "I think it was a combination of the both your bad senses of direction"

Yuki simply sniffed while Kyo decided to use his new found knowledge of my tickle spots to his advantage. In retaliation, I shook my wet mop of hair out on him, giggling when he recoiled.

"At least we got to see so much of the lake" Tohru said brightly, ever the optimist.

"Ah, so they have returned, welcome back Yuki and young friends!" Ayame greeted us at the door.

"Who're you callin friends?!" Kyo spat, hackles up instantly.

"We're back, safe and sound" Tohru told him.

"And cold" I added cheerily.

"That wouldn't be a problem if you didn't go in that damn lake" Kyo groaned.

I stuck my tongue out at him in response.

"By the way Yuki, I was talking with Ha'ri and he gave me some wonderful advice. And from now on I'm going to impress you with my steadfast determination!"

"What determination?" Kyo asked quietly.

"Simple. My determination to forge a bond with my younger brother! This time I will not give up until I succeed!" He pointed an imperious finger at Yuki, "Yuki! As your older brother I order you to respect me!"

Ah, wha?! I inched behind Kyo, using him as a meat shield between me and the explosion about to happen. He could take a beating better than I could, I was delicate.

Hehe. . .

Yuki smirked evilly, and then proceeded to beat the ever living crap out of his older brother. When the man collapsed to the ground, Tohru went to help him, only to transform him into a snake.

"Oh, I turned Ayame into a snake! What should we do?!"

Yuki plucked him up and began twirling him above his head.

"I think we're gonna lose him for a while" Kyo stated, just as Yuki let him fly.

Tohru began panicking in the yard. I turned to Yuki, "Yuki" I scolded, not really meaning it. "What did I say about in family homicide?"

"But Miss Cho" Yuki smiled innocently, "I didn't kill him, I simply sent him on a little trip"

My giggle was interrupted by a sneeze. Kyo grabbed my upper right arm and tugged me into the house, "Come on, before you get sick okay?"

"Okay" I followed him happily.

I loved living with this family. It was too bad that the day even had to end, because I could have stayed like this forever.

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><p><strong>Firstly, I want you all to know that I have finally gotten past my sporadic writers block and am planning on regular updates, at least once a week. Secondly, I want you to know that I love all of you guys! <strong>

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, for some reason, anything with Ayame, Hatori, and Shigure always makes me smile. But, they can also be a right pain in the ass. And, I am so proud of myself, I managed to write up the next few chapters in advance and I plan to keep that up. **

**Also, for those of you who pay any attention to the annoying AN's, and for those who don't, I really appreciate getting reviews. Seriously you guys, any reviews make me so happy and confident in my writing, I also enjoy getting suggestions, ideas, and ways to make my writing any better.**

**So, I'll be thanking my reviewers and leaving you to do whatever it is you do!**

**Chapter 21 Reviews**

**Darkkandivixen69: Thank you! I'm glad that you like my story so much! I really hate where the anime ended, so when the good parts of the anime run out, I'm going to move on to using the manga. It was so much more well finished! **

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><strong>

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	24. A Lost Tiger and a Tired Mother

**Here you folks go! Enjoy this chapter my lovelies!**

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><p>"Where's Tohru and that damn rat?"<p>

I looked up from my book to the grumpy face of Kyo, "Oh, um, out shopping. They should be back soon, they probably found someplace to wait out this sudden rain"

He drooped visibly, "Right, I'm going to my room."

I watched him slouch away, slightly baffled by his weird behavior. Shigure simply chuckled from behind his newspaper. "Don't mind him, he gets this way when it rains. It's a cat thing"

I chuckled at that, and went back to reading my book. It was one of Shigure's, and surprisingly, it was good. Really good. That didn't change my opinion of him though. He was still a pervert.

A few chapters later, the front door slammed open and hurried footsteps made their way to me and Shigure. I share a confused glance with him and set my book down, gasping when Yuki came in with a bleeding Tohru, Haru and a . . . a tiger?!

"Oh dear" I stood and looked over Tohru's hand, smiling quickly at Haru, "Hi Haru, it's good to see you. Tohru, what did you do to your hand?"

"Oh!" She smiled sheepishly, "Um, well, you see. . ."

"Kisa bit her" Yuki stated, coming back in with some bandages.

Haru set the tiger cub down, who went into the corner, and took the bandages from Yuki. I stared at the little tiger with a frown and shoveled my fingers through my hair.

"Kisa?" I looked at Yuki.

"Kisa Sohma" He nodded, "Obviously, she's the tiger in the zodiac"

I arched an eyebrow at Tohru, "You thought she was a kitty and went to pet her, didn't you?"

"Well" Shigure sighed, "It looks like you've been bitten"

She giggled sheepishly, nodding in answer. I just rolled my eyes at the obvious statement.

"Kisa" Yuki scolded, "You apologize to her! Kisa!"

Kisa didn't respond, only put her face in the corner. I frowned, what was the matter with her? I knew they could talk while they were in there animal forms, Kagura was a great example of that, so why was she so silent? Was she shy?

"Um, it's alright" Tohru told the irate teen, "I'm alright, I was just startled, really."

"Besides Yuki" Shigure said, "Kisa isn't able to answer."

"Why?" I asked quietly, looking to Haru. "Is she hurt?"

"She doesn't speak" Haru stated, "She hasn't said a word since right after she started middle school. Not a word." He paused to pull the towel on his head down around his neck, "And from what Hatori say's, the problems all in her mind. He said, for some reason, she's locked away all of her words in her heart. And after she stopped talking, she stopped going to school, and then today, she ran away from home. "

I looked over to the sad little form in the corner, smiling sadly. I knew the reasons she'd stopped talking just after joining middle school. Bullies. They run rampant without very much control from the teachers. I'd hated it before Tohru had adopted me.

"That's why, today, I went looking for her. By the time I found her, she'd already transformed into a tiger."

Tohru leaned forward, "M-maybe she ran into a boy."

"No" Haru shook his head, "I think she was just under too much stress."

"But" Yuki said quietly, "I don't understand. What happened? Why would she act this way, all of a sudden?"

"She was picked on" Haru told us, and suddenly, a little tiger went flying over my lap and latched onto his arm. He glared down at her, "That. Hurts. What is it? Are you angry now? You think I should just mind my own business, is that it? You made this my business, do you have any idea how worried I was about you? Or your mother? You know, she's still out there looking for you right now."

Kisa shut her eyes before running out of the house, I ignored Tohru's panicking and bolted after the poor girl. I knew what it was like to be picked on, it was a horrible thing that no child should have to suffer through alone.

"Kisa!' I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth, "Kisa, where are you? It's okay!" I opened my mouth to shout again when I spotted her tucked against the fence.

"Found you!" I dropped to my knees behind her and, without thinking, reached out to her. "There you are, you really had us worried!"

She spun around and clamped her teeth down on my fingers.

OWCH! "That's . . . okay" I bit out, lying through my teeth. "It doesn't hurt . . . at all. Not really, it hurts, but you're okay" I clamped down on the pain, "You're okay Kisa" I said softly, "Why don't you come back with me to the house so we can get this sorted-"

A woman crouched down next to me and Tohru knelt on my other side, "Kisa. Kisa? Mother's here now," This was her mom? "Shigure was good enough to call me and tell me where I might find you. Tell me, Kisa, Why are you doing this? Why do you want to cause trouble for everyone around you? What were you thinking? Do you enjoy hurting me like this?"

A stab of fury and indignation on Kisa's part filled me, and Kyo's words about how the mothers of the Zodiac members were either over protective, or rejected their baby ran through my mind. I wasn't so sure what she was at the moment, but why would she say such things to her daughter? How could she?

"Why? Why didn't you tell me the other kids were picking on you?" Kisa's mother asked, "Why did you run away from home? Why won't you say anything? I'm tired Kisa, I've. . . I've had it."

Kisa was still latched on to my hand, but I ignored the pain, "Look lady, bullying isn't easy to handle. Trust me, I've gone through it." I reached out and gently smoothed out the fur between Kisa's ears, "It's horrible and degrading and it just makes you want to give up."

"You know, maybe she just didn't know how to tell you, she was probably afraid of what you would think" Tohru murmured, leaning against my side. "Or she was worried that . . . she'd disappoint you"

I looked the mother right in the eyes, my own hard and relentless. "You may be tired, or had enough, but she need's you, she need's you to understand. I know what it's like to have a deadbeat mother that doesn't give a shit, and it ain't nice, ain't pretty. Having a mom that doesn't see enough, or doesn't do anything when something is obviously wrong sucks"

I looked back to Kisa with a gentle smile and spoke softer, "She was being bullied by kids her own age, and I know how that feels. Kids can be nasty little buggers. It hurts, it makes you feel like you're nothing. And with the curse, it probably makes it so much worse, because it's a burden you have to carry through it all."

"Maybe she was afraid" Tohru was kinder than I, "and maybe, maybe she didn't want anyone to know. So she tried to hide it, she put on her bravest face, and she did her best to look strong in front of everyone. But still, she knew. She knew she wasn't strong, and the more she tried to hide it, the more ashamed she felt. The more she began to hate herself. And the more she began to be afraid that you would hate her too if you knew the truth."

I blinked sad tears away, "Kids like that, like Kisa, like me. We either strike out and hate the world, or recede into ourselves. We get quiet so that nobody knows, so that they overlook us and don't see us as a target. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't"

"And maybe, that's the reason she couldn't say anything to you" Tohru said, "Maybe that's why she ran away. Because the thing she was most afraid of, the thing that scared her the most, was that her mother would reject her. That she would be hated, by someone she loved"

"Hated" I murmured, "By someone who should love her the most, no matter what happens, why it happens, or through something she was born with"

Kisa looked up at Tohru and me with sad, heartbreaking eyes and transformed back into a beautiful little girl with tawny hair that matched her fur when she was transformed. She cradled my hand in hers, reached out and gently grabbed Tohru's and rubbed her cheek to them in a silent , heartfelt apology with tears streaking down her face.

Gently, I extracted my hand and pulled off the hoodie I had on to drape it over her. She let out a small cry and threw herself into our arms. Tohru and I shared a tearful smile at the success. I put my hand on her head and kissed her hair.

"It's okay honey" I murmured, "Shhh"

Later that night, I excused myself from a sleeping Kisa, who was resting on Tohru's lap, Tohru herself, and Yuki to go downstairs to grab some water. I walked in on Haru, Shigure, and Kyo talking.

"She's clinging to Tohru and Mandy" Shigure said cheerfully.

"Just Ru at the moment" I said, walking in and startling Kyo. "Poor girls asleep." I glanced at Shigure, "Her mom gone?"

"Yes" Haru murmured, "I think you two gave her quite a bit to think about,"

I snagged Kyo's water bottle and took a drink, "I was probably too hard on her, wasn't I? I was just so pissed at her accusations to Kisa"

Shigure smiled gently, "Just hard enough I think, you definitely hit home on something."

"Good" I handed the bottle back, "Little girls need their moms"

Kyo knocked me gently on the side of the head, smiling a bit. "Go to bed. You look tired"

As if mentioning it brought it up, a yawn escaped. "Alright, alright. I'm going"

I walked in the cutest sight ever, and it was kind of heartbreaking at the same time. Kisa was half on Tohru's lap, sleeping, while Yuki was leaning against Tohru, resting his head on her shoulder. Smiling softly, and wishing I had a camera, I walked over to the trio. I placed a hand on Yuki's head, he looked startled at my kind smile, but simply relaxed and let me sit next to them. He then gripped my hand.

I was startled, but then, everyone needed comfort at some point.

That night, after Yuki had gone to sleep, all three of us slept in Tohru's bed. Kisa was very firm on that fact. She curled up between us, holding both our bitten hands in hers.

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><p><strong>So, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I was so excited to finally get to Kisa's part in the story. The next part I'm excited for is the reveal of Kyo's "True form"<strong>

**LadyAmazon: Thank you for reviewing again! I'm glad you liked it, and I certainly enjoyed your latest chapter! **

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**The Yoshinator: Yes, yes it is. But, I try my best and hope that you guys like it! Thank you!**

**Thank you guys for reviewing, and a big thank you to those who read and follow/favorite this story! It just makes me love to write even more! You reviews gives me the juice to write more!**

**Alright guys, until next chapter!**

**Teddy1994 out~**


	25. A Precious Voice and Flirting?

**Here you guys go! I hope you like it!**

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><p>Over the next few days, Kisa followed Tohru and I around like a little duck. If I was in the bathroom or out, she would go to Tohru and vice versa. She followed me around when I was doing laundry, holding the basket or folding the sheet's I pulled down off the clothes line, or taste testing my baking. I even caught her dipping her finger into the batter I used for little cakes.<p>

It was so cute! I absolutely loved it.

Right now, I was pulling sheets off of the line, folding them and sticking them into my basket. She was struggling to fold her own. Giggling, I took the sheet, folded it, and tweaked her nose. She smiled and picked up her basket to follow me while I went to put them away. On the way back, I stopped abruptly smiling like a loon, making her bump into my back.

"Ohhh! That's it! I can't stand it anymore, you so adorable!" I spun around and pulled her into a hug, "I love you!"

Tohru came out of the house and squealed, "So cute!"

She joined in on the love fest.

"Uh, hey" Kyo's annoyed voice brought us back to reality, "Dinner?"

"Oh dinner, that's right!" Tohru turned to Kisa, "So, what do you think we should have for dinner?"

She'd been trying to get Kisa to talk the entire time she's been here. So had I for that matter. Kisa opened her mouth, trying to answer, but nothing came out. She looked down, ashamed.

"Oh come on, it's not that hard" Kyo growled, "Can't ya even say what you wanna eat?"

"Kyo" I snapped, glaring at the boy. "Leave her alone, she's fine."

I cared about him, really, but he could be so dense sometimes. Shigure plopped himself on Kyo's back, hanging on him.

"Don't you listen to dumb old Kyo" Shigure said laughingly, "It's alright if you'd rather not decide. Que sera sera as they always say!"

"Get offa me!" Kyo snapped

"I'm sorry, am I bothering you?"

"What do you think?!"

"Oh, thinking now are we?"

I smiled down at Kisa, thinking. Kyo was right, in a way. It shouldn't really be that hard to say what you want. I suppose she's still keeping her words locked up tight.

"Ah, I know!" Tohru exclaimed, she ran into the house to grab some paper and a pen. She came back with it. There were ladders drawn, leading into a folded over piece of the paper. "Tada! We'll let fate decide!"

I laughed, "Oh man, it's been forever since we've done this."

"Ah" Shigure nodded, "I know this old game, the old fortune ladders!"

"Uh-huh" Tohru nodded, "Now Kisa, you just point to whichever one you like the best"

I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "If you can't chose, just close your eyes and point"

Smiling slightly, she took my advice and pointed. I smiled and put my hand on her cute little head.

"Alright! So that's where we start!" Tohru said happily, "Now we just climb the ladder. Lalalalalalala!"

"Do ya have to sing while you do it?" Kyo asked grumpily.

"Ah here we are" Tohru ignored the sourpuss, "The choice is . . . for dinner tonight, stewed leaks!"

I burst into laughter at Kyo's expense while he grumbled at Tohru, "Good choice little one, good choice!"

Kisa leaned back into me, beaming away. I hugged her to me and smiled at Kyo, "Looks like you're stuck Kyo, I'll just make you some rice balls and salmon okay?"

"Forget about it" He sighed, "Just make it the best you can"

"Okay" I laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head. "I'll try"

"Having a lovers spat over such a silly little thing are we?" Shigure spouted out.

"WHAT?! WE ARE NOT!"

"I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?"

I laughed, even while I blushed. Kisa giggled along, smiling happily. I looked down at her, you know, even though she can't talk now, I can feel that we'll hear it soon. I bet her voice was just as sweet as her personality.

The next day at school, I had lunch with Kyo in the classroom. Mayu sensei didn't care as long as our messes were cleaned up. Momiji had come and dragged off Yuki and Tohru not long ago, so it was just the two of us. I leaned back against the window and sipped my iced coffee quietly.

What was Kisa going to do? She can't possibly stay at the house forever, and even if she does go back to her mother's, what about her schooling? Will she be able to go back to that classroom of children who bullied her? Kisa and I . . . we handled these types of things very differently. I was angry and violent, she is quiet and shy.

In other words, I was worried for the little girl.

"What's the matter?" Kyo sighed suddenly, putting down his drink.

"Huh?"

"What's the matter?" He repeated impatiently.

I began to play with the tab on the canned coffee, "I was just thinking about, about Kisa."

"Ah" He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet on the desk. "Well? Come on. . ."

I sighed and set the can on my desk, "What's she going to do Kyo? I mean, I think her and her mother will be fine, she called last night and talked to Tohru, but what about her voice? And what about school?" I crossed my arms under my chest and closed my eyes, "I just can't fathom why anybody would bully such a sweet little girl"

Kyo rubbed a hand over his hair, "I can. It happened to all of the Zodiac members with strange colored hair, or eyes. We look different, so we get picked on. Haru used to chase the kids around the playground" He chuckled, "It's better than me, I guess. I used to beat them half to death"

I leaned my head back against the window, "Kisa is . . . different. She's quiet and shy, unlike when I was in middle school, she won't do anything violent, or say anything nasty." I sighed, "She must have tried to stand up for herself, everyone does at first, but they either ignored her, or made fun of her anyway"

Poor Kisa . . .

"Hey. . ." Kyo suddenly looked uneasy, "You're not gonna cry are you?"

I had to laugh, "No dear, I'm not going to cry"

He looked slightly surprised at the endearment, and a slight blush dusted across his cheeks and the tops of his ears. "Well . . . good."

I giggled and began eating my lunch, something about Kyo always made me smile and feel better. From his shyness, to his willingness to listen to my problems. Even though he could be slightly impatient and abrasive sometimes.

"Aright you two" Mayuko sensei suddenly walked into the room, "Stop flirting and eat your lunch, class is almost starting"

"Sensei!" I groaned. She was almost as bad as Shigure . . .

"HEY YOU STUPID TEACHER!"

Mayuko sensei only cackled and pulled out a box of black hair dye to shake at him, "Anytime orangie, anytime!"

~LINE BREAK~

After work that night, I was exhausted. We were unusually swamped for orders of cakes and cupcakes, and in house was full from when I got there to when we closed.

Needless to say, I was quite out of it when I walked outside. I was halfway through pulling my purse over my head when an adorable voice called out;

"Auntie?"

Automatically my head turned, I saw Kisa, Tohru, and Yuki gathered not far from me. I stared at Kisa, not quite believing my ears. Then she ran to me and called out again.

"Auntie!"

I dropped my purse and met her, bending to scoop her up into a spinning hug. "Kisa! You talked! Honey, you talked!"

"Is it . . . is it okay if I call you Auntie?"

I beamed at the sound of her wonderful voice, "Sweetie, you could call me George and I wouldn't care!" I hugged her tight again, "Oh I love you!"

"I love you too Auntie"

I had to squeeze back tears of happiness. She was talking, finally, and her voice was absolutely wonderful.

The next day, everyone decided to walk Kisa half way to her school. She'd made the courageous decision to go back and face everyone.

I knelt and winked conspiratorially, "If they keep picking on you, just tell them Amanda Cho is your Auntie. I have quite the reputation at the middle school, it should deter them a bit. But, if you want to be nice, I suppose you could just be your usual sweet self, honey."

She giggled and hugged me before turning around and walking. I sighed and pouted at Tohru, "It's going to be very weird without her around the house now."

"Yes, it is" Tohru agreed.

"It's too bad Yuki can't be here too" Momiji said.

"Mhm" Haru was calm as ever, "But he said there was something he needed to do"

"Alright!" I lifted my hands in the air, "Onward ho! Off to school we go!"

Everyone laughed at that. Haru even went as far as to wrap his arm around my head and noogie me. I yelped and wiggled.

"HATSUHARU SOHMA!"

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><p><strong>LadyAmazon; I know right? I would love to have her as a little sister!<strong>

**GiraffePanda2; Well, I hoped you liked this chapter! I'm trying to get as much fluff as possible!**

**The Yoshinator; I know exactly how you feel, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Thank you guys for reviewing! I really love getting feedback for my story, it keeps me motivated to write!**

**REVIEW PLEASE~**


	26. Invading Spaces and Curses

**Hi guys! Here's the 27th chapter! Holy crap, I cannot believe how far I've gotten with this story! Enjoy my darlings!**

* * *

><p>Today started out on a strange note. Arisa, Tohru, and I were waiting in the hallways between classes. Tohru and Arisa were talking while I was immersed in a manga called Durarara! It was actually very good. I was pulled out of it when Arisa suddenly grabbed the top of my head and turned it.<p>

"Yo, Tohru, Mandy, check it out"

"Yes?!" We asked.

I caught sight of Saki having a conversation, a real conversation, with Minami, Mio, and Mai. The three annoying girls of the Prince Yuki Fan club. What in the hell was going on? Saki couldn't stand those girls. I frowned and was tempted to go up and see if they were going to give her trouble. But, I remembered, Saki was able to take care of herself.

"Hana's over their talking to that Minami girl" Arisa whispered.

"Oh" Tohru said happily, "Well, that's good right? Maybe they're finally starting to be friends or something"

I snorted, "As if. All those bitches think about is Yuki and different ways to get in his pants."

Tohru gasped, blushing brightly.

"Are you crazy? Hana hates those fan club girls more than anything" Arisa quirked an eyebrow, "I don't know, but there's definitely something suspicious going on here"

I slipped my book into my bag when I noticed her walking over to us, "We'll find out in a second, here she comes."

"Hey" Arisa called, "Hana!"

"Oh my, you were watching us?" our black haired friend asked.

"Wha 'sup? Were they trying to stick you with the blame for something?"

I ran a hand through my hair, "They weren't giving you trouble were they?"

"No, they weren't. They said they were doing a special report on electric waves, for the school newspaper, and they want to interview me. They asked if they could come to my house this afternoon" She told us, gripping her chin with a black nailed hand.

"Huh?" I scratched my head.

As if, they were definitely up to something. I wonder what though?

"Do you actually believe that?" Arisa asked dubiously.

"Who know's?" She shrugged, "However, I felt the unmistakable presence of sinister waves"

"Eh?!" Tohru gasped.

"So, are you letting them come over?" I wondered out loud.

"Of course." She said, very matter of fact. "I can't back down when the waves might break"

I snickered and hi-fived Arisa, who crowed; "Alright! A fight, that's what I like to see!"

"Uh" Tohru made a worried noise.

"Oh, this is going to get interesting! You mind if I come over after work?" Arisa all but cackled at the idea of freaking out the fan club girls.

"No, not at all." She looked at us, "Are you coming as well Tohru, Mandy?"

"No" Tohru said regretfully, "I'm sorry, I've got to work until late tonight."

"Oh" I grimaced when her eyes fell.

I threw my hands up in the air and then laced them behind my back, "Sure, I've been wanting to come over anyway. You don't mind if it's just me do you?"

The slight downfall in her expression lifted slightly, "Of course not"

Then she did something weird, she looked through the window we were standing by and stared. I looked too and just saw a girl ducking down, holding what looked like a camcorder.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, "Dumb girls, always being annoying. Come on, we'd better get to class,

my dears"

Later that day at lunch, I told the boys where I was going after school. Kyo looked mildly interested, while Yuki looked mortified.

"I'm sorry Miss Hanajima," He sighed into his bento.

"It is no problem" Saki said as she ate, "I will have Mandy, and after this, they won't bother me at my home ever again"

They all looked scared to ask what she meant by that, so they said nothing.

"Control your damn fan girls" Kyo said snidely.

"As if you're one to talk" Yuki snapped, "None of mine ever stuck gum in Miss Cho's or Miss Honda's hair" He sniffed, "Even your fan girls are as uncouth as you are, stupid"

"DON'T CALL ME STUPID!"

"Then don't give me reason to, stupid"

"Alright" I cut them off before it could get ugly, "Firstly, I took care of that, secondly, I look damn good with this hair, and thirdly, you both realize you're arguing over your fan girls right?"

That shut them up for the rest of lunch. I sat back with a contented sigh, grinning as the others poked fun at the two. That's when the bell rang and we were all hurrying back to our seats for homeroom.

After school, I met up with Saki and the girls in front of the building. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and fixed them all with a cool glare, silently daring them to make any wrong moves. What surprised me though, was the fact that it wasn't just the usual three girls that we saw, it was just two of them. There was Matoko Minagowa too. She was the official president of their non-official little club.

The girls just glared at me, looking slightly worried about something. I smiled, feeling sly, and sent them a wink. Touching my index finger to my eyelid and pointing it at them, in a silent showing of 'I'm watching you'.

Saki smiled when she saw me and sent a bland look at Matoko, Minami, and Mio. "Follow us"

They followed behind us, "whispering" loud enough that I barely had to try to hear them.

"What is that Wretch doing? Did you know she would be coming too?"

"No! She's going to ruin everything!"

I smiled in accomplishment and silently walked with Saki to the train station where we would ride from there to her house. I was excited to see her little brother. I hadn't seen the little brat in forever!

The train ride to Saki's house was quite interesting. I got to watch all three girls stand and grip the hand rails in fists so tight, I thought they were going to break them.

Once we got to the station, Saki turned and pointed in the direction we would be going. "This way, we turn here. . ."

"Umm, okay" Minami seemed slightly unsure.

"Ha-Hanajima, you ride the train to school?" Matoko asked shakily, as if the very thought of getting on a train was appalling, even though she just had.

I decided to ignore the girls and loop my arm through Saki's, "So hun, how's Auntie Azumi and Uncle Isamu? I hope Megumi's doing well"

She smiled at my questions, "Mother and Father are doing well, and Megumi has been wanting to see you three for the past few days"

"Great, it's really been too long since I've seen him." I smiled as we came into sight of her home.

Usually with people, they all think Saki's house is some old Victorian model built on some graveyard, but really, it's just your average suburbia household. I turned to call to the fan club members.

"Yo, we're here"

"What, already?!" Makoto asked, shocked.

"Yes" I stated impatiently, "Pay attention will you?"

I simply ignored the glares they sent me and entered the familiar house, taking off my shoes at the entry, and stopped.

"Thank you for having us" Minami said politely.

"This is a pretty big house" Mio stated, obviously relieved it wasn't dark and gloomy and filled with cobwebs.

"You three" Saki turned with a foreboding tone, "For your safety, I suggest not speaking your real names in this house"

You probably think that was weird of her to say, and it was if you're not accustomed to her, but to those of us who knew it was a valid point. You see, Megumi, Saki's brother, is a lot like his sister. They even look alike, even if Saki says otherwise. But, unlike his sibling, he doesn't control or sense electric waves. Megumi has the power to lay curses on those he knew the names of.

We left them in Saki's room and headed back down the hall, I paused at Megumi's room and knocked quietly, gesturing for Saki to go ahead. The adorable little boy opened the door and blinked in surprise.

"Hey Megumi!" I grinned and received his hug, "How are you?"

He gave me was passed for a smile, "I am good, and you Mandy?"

"The same" I leaned down to whisper, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course" He agreed easily, "What can I do for you?"

I gestured to Saki's bedroom, "Listen to those three? They're probably going through your sister's stuff right now, and I bet they're doing exactly what she told them not to do. I want to scare them before the day is over"

Megumi got a scary gleam in his eyes before smiling slyly, "That I can do, leave it to me"

I kissed the top of his head and left him to it, smirking in anticipation. Saki was loading up a plate with dango and a tray with tea when I joined her in the kitchen. I picked up the tea and smiled.

"What did you do?"

"Oh nothing" I shrugged, "Just talked to Megumi"

She gave me a knowing smile and grasped the plate of dango, leading the way to her bedroom. We entered just as the sliding door that connected the siblings bedrooms snapped shut. I set the tea down and looked suspiciously around the room, glaring at Minami when I noticed things moved around and slightly out of order.

She glared back at me.

"I apologize for making you wait" Saki told her guest's.

That's when Matoko started to freak out, speaking about someone hiding, pointing wildly to the door that could pass for a closet. I rolled my eyes and planted my hands on my hips.

"You mean Megumi?"

Matoko looked at me and stuttered, "Meh?! Huh- wha?!"

"My younger brother, his shoes were in front so he must be home from school now" Saki said, as if we hadn't just been talking about him, "Megumi, come out from hiding and say hello"

He slid the door open just enough to show a sliver of his face, "Hello. You're not Tohru and Arisa, are you new friends of Saki?"

"No, they happen to be in the same class, and happen to have the same genders, but they are complete strangers" Saki stated coldly.

~LINE BREAK~

I was sitting between Saki and Megumi, munching on a stick of dango with sweet sauce covering it, enjoying the awkward silence that had enfolded the room. That's when the leader of the little trio spoke up.

"Y-you look just like your sister" Matoko's smile was strained, she was trying to make conversation.

"No he doesn't. . ." Saki told them, glancing to her brother.

I smirked as the silence just got thicker, the girls obviously thinking otherwise. "They're nothing alike"

"Um . . . well, Megumi" Matoko was sweating, "Megumi, can you send waves or something too?"

"I can't do anything like that" Megumi examined his dango stick, "All I can do . . . is curse people"

Silence, thick, palpable silence filled the room.

"My specialty is reciprocating curses with increased intensity," He said, "I'm . . . a little proud of it"

"He's kinda . . . strange isn't he?" Saki said affectionately.

I giggled and ruffled his short inky black hair, "Just a little bit."

"C-curse people?" Minami stuttered, "How do you . . .?"

"If I know someone's _**name **_it's easy for me to put a curse on them" Megumi told them with a straight face, "Now that you mention it, I still haven't heard _your_ names"

"_**NOW, NOW!**__" _Matoko burst to her feet and clapped her hands, "It would be _**rude **_of us to stay too long! Let us finish our business and be on our way, l-like a refreshing gust of wind in the month of May!"

"Your names. . ."

"That's right!" Minami joined her leader, "Hate to ask questions and run, b-but she's right! Yup, honestly! Really!"

They started to whisper with each other quietly, with the Mio girl looking like she was about to have a panic attack.

"Hanajima senpai, do you have a weakness?" She whimpered.

"THAT"S TOO MUCH TO THE POINT!"

I scowled at the three, "What in the hell is that supposed to me-"

"I do" Saki said quietly.

"WHAT?" All three shouted, obviously surprised.

"Such a . . ." Saki looked them over, "Heavy matter. You are all in the Yuki Sohma fan club, are you not? You must hate that Tohru has gotten to be such a good friend of Yuki Sohma recently, and by extension, Mandy too. You must want to _**punish **_Tohru, but I am in the way of your doing that. Are you scared?" She blinked, "But to look for my weakness, is a very childish way to do things"

"Th-THAT'S DIRTY! USING YOUR WAVES TO READ OUR MINDS!" Minami shouted.

"I am not reading your minds"

I pounded my fist on the table, fury burning hot. "Why you petty little girls! If you've got a problem with Tohru or me, then why don't you say it to my face?! Instead, you go asking my friend-"

Saki cut me off by calmly placing a black nailed hand over my fist, shaking her head slightly. I scowled, what in the hell had Tohru done to earn such hate from these stupid bitches?

"Alright girls, it can't be helped. We've been found out, there's no use beating around the bush" Matoko stated briskly. "You're absolutely right, we despise the witch . . . I mean Tohru Honda and her bodyguard Amanda Cho." She smiled slyly, "How about this; will you ask her to put a little more distance between herself and Yuki?"

"That is up to the two of them" Saki stated passively, "Actions spawned from jealousy are quite unbecoming"

"IT"S NOT JEALOUSY! WE'RE RIGHTFULLY ANGRY!" Mio stood in self-righteous anger.

Minami followed suit, "Yeah! Who does she think she _**is**_!? What makes her think Prince Yuki wants to be around her?! She makes me sick!"

"What about you? What do you know about Tohru?" Saki asked quietly, "It saddens me to know that Tohru is looked down upon, merely for her association with something like Yuki . . ."

"Something like?!" Matoko shrilled, "You would dare call the Prince a thing?! Did you hear that? You two heard that didn't you?!"

"YES! BUT OF COURSE WE HEARD HER!" The two underlings cried.

"It's because you look down on Tohru . . ."

"What about you?! You're looking down on Yuki, and on us! Look at you, mocking us with those lightless eyes of yours!"

I pounded my hand on the table and leaned forward intimidatingly, "How _dare _you! How dare you come into Saki's house under false pretenses." I stood, thoroughly pissed off. "You go through her things, don't you think I didn't notice, you sit here drinking her tea and exploiting her hospitality, when you really only want to find out her weakness. I can't believe you have the gall to sit here and shout at her like this"

"What do _you_ feel for **_Yuki_**?!" They gasped at the familiarity I said his name with, "Other than simple infatuation with an attractive boy? Do you _know _him? Do you know what he's like? Have you ever even spoken to him before?! Or Tohru for that matter? How the _hell _can you say she's conceited when you've never even talked to her before?!"

Matoko pressed her hand to her chest and spoke passionately, "I-we- truly adore Yuki! Dare I say, we love him! Do you understand how Tohru Honda's actions are trampling on those feelings? Making that face like she's . . . like she's the one Yuki likes the most! Making sport of Yuki and getting all conceited!"

I snarled wordlessly, Tohru wouldn't make sport of a fly! The girls couldn't even squish a spider without feeling bad. And getting conceited? Please! Tohru Honda was the most humble person you could ever ask to meet!

"If you **like **him . . ." Megumi said frankly, "You cannot say whatever comes into your head and assume you will be forgiven. If **you **like him, how can you speak so disrespectfully about him? You should choose your words more carefully"

Saki spoke next, "You should know that if you bombard someone with one-sided love then you are nothing but a burden to them and you will just be hurting them in the end."

Megumi smirked evilly, "You must remember to respect the other person's feelings"

"Wha?!" Minami spluttered.

"For if you do not" Megumi continued over her, "He will only _**hate **_you in the end. Minami . . . Mio . . . and Matoko?"

They practically shoved each other on their way out the door. I was still fuming angry when they flew out the door, looks of absolute terror on their petty faces.

"Did I . . . go too far?" Megumi asked.

"No" Saki told them, "But when did you learn their names?"

"While you were making tea, they were calling each other by their names." Megumi told her, omitting the fact that I'd asked him to eavesdrop. "It wasn't hard"

"Actually, I was a little jealous too" Saki took her hair out of its strict braid, "But, you are right. That's why I cannot be selfish. I mustn't be like those three. But, it was a little rude for me to call Yuki Sohma a thing"

Megumi smiled up at his elder sister, "You can learn from their bad examples . . ."

I curled my lip, "I can't believe the nerve of those . . ."

There wasn't even a word for them.

Megumi took my hand in to his, "Are you okay Mandy? I hope so, you were very angry on my sister's behalf in there"

I shoveled my hand through my hair in frustration, "I'm sorry" I apologized to them, "I shouldn't have blown up like that, it's just the way they were talking about you, about Tohru, and about Yuki. I _hate _when people insult my friends, especially when they don't even know them."

"And you don't have to be jealous Saki" I took her hand in my free one, smiling warmly at her. "Tohru loves you, I love you. We'd be lost without you and Arisa. You two are my closest friends besides Tohru, and I know she feels the same way. We've just been so busy with work and school . . ."

Saki smiled and pulled the Megumi and me into a tight hug, saying nothing with words, only with actions.

That's when the doorbell rang.

"Coming" Saki called, she opened the door to reveal Tohru and Arisa.

"Yo" Arisa greeted, holding her hand up in a peace sign.

"Hana! Mandy!" Tohru gasped.

"Tohru?" Saki asked, slightly bewildered.

"I met her at the station" Arisa informed us.

"Hana, uh, um, where are Minami and the others?" Tohru asked hurriedly.

"They left" I said coldly.

Arisa noticed and shot me and Saki a look while Tohru greeted Megumi. I shook my head, not wanting to get into and get pissed all over again.

"Hey" Arisa leaned into Saki, "I think she was worried about you"

The look on her face when Arisa turned to Tohru and Megumi was heart wrenching. I smiled and looped my arm over her shoulders, bumping my forehead into hers. "Told you we love you Hana"

I never used Tohru's nicknames for them, and I think it hit home that we absolutely loved her. I vowed to use her nickname from now on, just to prove it.

She smiled, glowing with happiness.

~LINE BREAK~

The next day at school was particularly funny. Matoko came up to us spewing crap about failing and running away but not giving up. They were pretty self-confident until Saki mentioned that her brother had cursed them and it would take effect in the next three days.

Then, later, Saki apologized to a clueless Yuki for speaking poorly about him. I just laughed my ass off and read my book, thinking about how great things were now.

I truly love my friends. . .

* * *

><p><strong>Ermahgerd! This fricking chapter was so hard to write and not screw up! But, I knew it had to be<br>done, because it was in both the manga and the anime. **

**I hope y'all liked it, I decided to make Mandy a bit emotional in this chapter. She's kinda like me in this aspect. **

**Don't screw with my friends, or I'll bite your head off. Not that I can fight, because I suck at any physical  
>activities.<strong>

**On a totally unrelated subject, I somehow managed to cut the tip of my thumb at work last night. I've got one big slice and, like, five little slices on the vary tip of my thumb. It hurts, every time**** I want to do something... I like pie...**

**Okay, now I'm just rambling. Now it's time to get to my faithful reviewers! **

**GiraffePanda2: I'm happy that you thought it was cute! That's what I was aiming for!**

**LadyAmazon: It took me so long to figure out a nickname for Mandy! I knew Tohru will always be sissy, but I literally sat there for twenty minutes trying to figure out what to have Kisa call her. I've got so many idea's for her first meeting with Hiro, they're just popping out of my mind!**

**The Yoshinator: I thought that would be a good touch, having Mandy be well known at the middle school. I'm glad you thought so too!**

**Thank you guys soooooo much for reviewing on my story! I love you guys!**

**BYE-BYE!**


	27. Red Marks and Cold's

"I think the midterm results are within your expectation" Mayuko sensei told all of us, "For those of you who failed on any and all subjects, there are the Sunday's supplementary exam.

There was a collective groan around the whole classroom, making me snicker. Thankfully, I hadn't gotten a single red mark. I glanced at Tohru and frowned, but it doesn't look like she was so lucky. I stood and walked over to her.

"You should be showing us gratitude for this chance" Mayuko sensei scowled, before leaving the room.

"Yeah really, it's your own god damn fault if you gotta come back in for a retest!" Uo smirked and looked at Tohru, "But that's what they get for not studying, right Tohru . . ."

I knelt next to her desk, "Tohru, you got a failing grade?"

Her hands were covering her face, and I could practically feel the chill from the gloom cloud above her head. She nodded.

"How many?" The ex-Yankee asked, concerned.

Tohru held up one shaking finger in response. I sighed, rolling my eyes. Here she goes, overreacting about something you could easily fix, again.

Uo put a hand on her shoulder, "Aw, only one? Don't let it get to ya too much. It's not that bad."

Hana joined us and put an arm around her shoulders, "Yes, she's right Tohru. In fact, compared to me, it's very good. I failed all of my tests"

"Hana!" I stared in disbelief, "Don't sound so happy about that!"

"You say that like you're proud of it! You should be the one who's upset!" Uo scolded her, "Anyway, what happened? You passed all your test's last time. Did the prince not help you study?"

I frowned, "Yeah, have you been overworking yourself?"

She shook her head quickly and spoke, sounding close to tears. "No he, he tried to help me."

Yuki walked up to us, a concerned look on his face. "Miss Honda? What's the matter, is it . . . retests?"

"Ahhhhhhh~" Tohru started to freak out, backing away with one hand held out, as if to ward off the truth. She fell to her knees, facing the wall, "I am so sorry . . ."

"Tohru" I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

"Ah, no, really, you don't have to-" Yuki was looking at us, as if asking for help.

I shrugged helplessly, when Tohru got like this, there was no consoling her. She would make herself sick, worrying about shit like this.

"You went to so to help me" She said mournfully, "And I still failed one of my tests. I feel so bad for making you waste your time, I can't believe I'm so stupid!"

Hana and Uo were on the floor, comforting her, or at least, trying to comfort her. She was inconsolable right now. I just stood and shook my head, slightly frustrated with her. She was overreacting over something that could easily be fixed.

Yuki knelt next to them, "You're not stupid, you just made a mistake. We all make them, no one expects you to be perfect"

Tohru just stared at him, sniffing with tears streaming comically down her face.

"Besides" Yuki said, smiling encouragingly. "You've got a second chance right? The questions on the test are usually easier than the real thing"

"That's true" Hana told her, "They'll be much easier"

"I'm not sure you should be the one giving out the advice" Uo muttered.

I snorted, "Especially since you failed them on purpose"

"Hey Yuki" one of our male classmates called, "So, are you coming or what?"

"I'll be there in a second" Yuki called back before crouching again, "There's a student council meeting today, but if you need me to, I can walk you home?"

Tohru smiled, obviously forcing herself to. "No, I'll be alright!"

Later, after school, Kyo and I were walking Tohru home. I could only go halfway, because I had to work soon, but I was contemplating calling in, just to make sure Tohru didn't worry herself into a fever.

Suddenly Kyo turned to say; "So, you gotta take a retest huh?"

I face-palmed as Tohru plastered herself against the concrete wall we were walking next to. She was obviously punishing herself for, as she puts it, 'Being an idiot'.

"Tohru" I pulled her away from the wall and held her so her face was in my shoulder, "Why do you do this to yourself?!"

"I was just asking" Kyo sighed, "It's not that big 'a deal"

She whimpered into my shirt. I sighed, keeping one arm around her as I pulled out my purple flip phone. "Alright. That's it, I'm calling in to work"

"NO!" Tohru suddenly shrieked, working herself into a tizzy. "Y-You can't Mandy! You just can't! That would be horrible, if, if you missed work because of me-

I rolled my eyes as she started going off and leaned in to mutter to Kyo, "If I don't go into work, it'll just make her worse. Can you- do you think-"

Kyo put his hand on my shoulder, "I got it, get to work. I'll keep an eye on her for yah"

Surprising him, and myself, I leaned up to place a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, call me if anything happens." I turned to Tohru and shook her a little, "Alright! I'm going to work! But I want you to go home and get some rest, okay? No, don't argue!" I cut her off, "Or I'll call Hatori to put you on bed rest, got it?"

Tohru slumped, "Okay Mandy"

I patted her head, "Good girl"

I waved goodbye to Kyo, smiling at the blush that had worked its way up to the tips of his ears, and made my way to work. Slightly wondering why I wasn't blushing like a total moron, usually I would be as red as a tomato, but today I wasn't.

Strange.

In hindsight, I probably should have just stayed home. I was useless at work, getting orders wrong and constantly checking my phone for any missed calls or text messages. I was so worried that I didn't even eat on my break, everything just sounded gross for some reason.

Around six o'clock, I finally got a phone call. It was Shigure. I signaled to the manager on duty that I needed to take five and went into the back room where everyone hung their jackets and purses.

"Hello?" I answered the phone, "What's wrong with her?"

"Wow!" Shigure's chirpy voice exclaimed, "Amanda, are you psychic?! Hey, hey, can you tell me-"

"Dammit Shigure!" I swore into the phone, "I will kick your ass through this phone if you don't-"

There was the sound of a thud and whimpering before a deeper male started talking, "I apologize for him Mandy, I tried to get to the phone before him"

"Hatori?" I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "She worked herself into a cold didn't she?"

"She did" Hatori confirmed calmly, "I have given her some medication, and with such a mild cold, Tohru should be well by tomorrow."

"Thank you" I told him warmly, "Seriously Hatori, I appreciate it."

"You are very welcome"

I scratched my head, "Well, I guess I should come home. Ah hell" I looked at my watch, "We're not busy at the moment, so manager can live with being a little shorthanded. Tell the others I'll be home in a bit, kay?"

"Actually, they should already be there" Hatori muttered.

"Huh?" I asked, confused by his words.

"Nothing" He sounded like he was smiling, "I'll see you when you get home"

We said our goodbyes, over Shigure's muffled shouts, and hung up. I rubbed a hand down my face and took off my apron, replacing it with my sweater and purse. I told the manager I had to go, and ignored his sputtering. He wouldn't fire me, I was his best waitress.

Outside our little shop, was a huge surprise. Yuki, Kyo, Momiji, and Kisa were all standing there, waiting for me. It must have been a sight, me frozen on the sidewalk, gawking at the group of beautiful, because that was the only word for them, teens and kids.

"Auntie!" Kisa ran to me, beaming.

A grin spread out on my face and I scooped her up into a hug, "Kisa!" I held out my hand for Momiji, "Miji! What are you two doing here?"

Kisa looked up at me with her gorgeous tawny eyes, "We heard Sissy was sick,"

Momiji nodded, "Yup, and Ha'ri let us come with him to see Tohru!"

"And when we said we were going to pick you up" Yuki placed a hand on top of my head, "They couldn't wait to see you, so they came with us"

Kyo grunted, "Little brats"

Kisa smiled shyly at him before clutching my hand, "I missed you Auntie"

I squealed from cuteness overload and kissed the top of her head, "I missed you too sweetheart!" I smiled happily at a pouting Momiji, cupping his cheek. "You too hun, it's wonderful that you guys came to see Tohru and me."

"Speaking of" Yuki smiled at us, "Why don't we go back home and check up on Miss Honda?"

"Good idea" I grasped Miji's and Kisa's hands.

"Uh, Mandy?" Kyo got my attention.

"Hm? Wha-" I followed his gaze to the windows of my work. Every single one of my co-workers had their noses pressed against the glass windows. "Ah hell" I glared at them, "Get back to work yah bunch 'a nosy twats!"

They scattered. Kyo was snorting, obviously finding my use of language amusing. Yuki was staring at me, a look of slight horror on his usually stoic face.

"Miss Cho! Won't you get in trouble for that?!"

I scoffed, "Nah, that was nice compared to the usual things we call each other."

"Auntie, what's a tw-" I covered Kisa's mouth quickly.

"It's a bad word dear" I said seriously, "Very bad. Don't ever say it, okay?"

Once I had her agreement, the five of us began walking home. Conversation flowed, and at one point Yuki and I were giving piggy back rides to Kisa and Momiji. All in all, I was in a great mood when I got home. Hatori and Shigure were there to greet us at the door.

"Welcome ho~ome!" Shigure cried.

I scowled at the dog, still slightly irritated at him for the phone call. "I'm not talking to you right now"

"Hello, welcome back" Hatori greeted us.

"I'm home" I smiled warmly at the Doctor, "How are you Hatori? Would you like some tea?"

"No thank you" Hatori told me, "I've already had some, but there's someone upstairs waiting to see you"

I left the good doctor with the pouting Shigure and lead everyone else upstairs. Momiji and Kisa hopped up on my bed as soon as we entered and let me seat myself next to Tohru. Kyo and Yuki stood with their arms crossed at the foot of the bed.

"Hi Mandy" Tohru greeted meekly.

"Hi" I said back, frowning slightly. "Ru, you gotta stop doing this. It's not good for you, and it only makes me worry more about you than I already do."

"I'm sorry"

"I know you are honey" I took her hand and lightly pincher her thigh, "But no more of this, got it?"

"Okay" Tohru nodded, smiling back at me. "I'll try"

We left when Yuki told us he was going to help her study for the make-up tests. For the rest of the night, until Hatori decided it was time to go back to the main house, I sat around and chatted with Kisa, Momiji, and Kyo. It was great. Especially when I learned that Kisa had actually made some friends at her school. Apparently they'd stopped picking on her, and some of the teachers had made funny faces when I was mentioned.

When Sunday came, Tohru passed the retests with flying colors, as did Hana. But, then again, we all knew she'd done it on purpose to get easier tests.

All in all, everything was fine, and Tohru got it through her thick skull that panicking herself into a cold was _not _the way to go about these things.

Finally. . .

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><p><strong>OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY!<strong>

**The Wifi at my house is down and I haven't had a chance to update! I'm stealing wifi from my work right now to get this posted. I love you guys and I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Now on to thanking my faithful reviewers!**

**The Yoshinator: I'm glad that you enjoyed this, I love how Mandy's temper stood out in this chapter.**

**broweiss27: I'm excited for the Hiro chapter to come up soon too!**

**Prince: I know right? Thank you for reviewing!**

**Ninja-Bunny-Master: I'm happy that you think this story is awesome! Thank you!  
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**Thanks you guys, your reviews are what really keep me going! I'll see you next chapter!**


	28. Dates, Revelations, and Shishou!

**Don't shoot meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!**

**Disclaimer: I do no own Fruits Basket**

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><p>It's nearly the end of June now and it's almost always raining. It's quite annoying, and it also meant I'll have to start using the clothes dryer more often now. Ugh, there's probably mounds of laundry at home to do too.<p>

Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, and I were walking home from school, using our umbrellas to shield us from the rain. Right at the moment, we were waiting at the crosswalk for the light to turn green.

"The weather report said it would let up a little this afternoon." Yuki told us, trying to be cheerful about the unholy amount of water pouring down on us.

"If it does stop, that would be very helpful" Tohru smiled, "But would be even more _**helpful**_, is if it turned out to be a clear, sunny, summer!"

"Seriously" I rolled my eyes and shook my purple umbrella a bit, "Sun, and warmth, plus it means I get to stop wearing long sleeves and pants."

"Summer, huh?" Yuki asked, looking at us. "You really like summer Miss Honda, Miss Cho?"

"Yes! I can work a lot during the summer holidays!" Tohru misunderstood the question.

"I don't think that's what he meant Ru," I smiled warmly at Yuki, "But do you like summer Yuki?"

He shrugged, "Mm, I guess you could say it's not my _**favorite**_ season."

I arched an eyebrow at that before shrugging and turning to Kyo, "Really? How can you not like- Kyo!" I turned to him, "_**You**_ like summer right?"

"I don't know. I don't really care one way or the other" Kyo said gloomily.

Awkward silence reins once more! I shifted my umbrella and examined the boy more, he'd been awfully quiet today. Maybe . . . I remember Shigure saying something about the rain bothering him more than it did others because of the cat spirit.

"Oh! Well . . . um . . ." Tohru stuttered, obviously trying to find something to break the silence.

"Miss Honda, Miss Honda!" Yuki grabbed her attention, "It's nothing to worry about, he always gets this way on rainy days. Haru was saying something about it . . ."

"Oh?" Tohru tilted her head slightly to the right, "I see . . . So that's why he's been in such a bad mood lately."

"So it would seem" Yuki sighed, "Really, he's so irresponsible"

Kyo was instantly angry, "It's . . ." He seemed to lose any energy and bent to rest his hand on his knee, "Better than you, dammit! You . . . can't even . . . wake up in the morning!"

Now he wasn't making any sense at all, he was trying to insult Yuki, but he was failing epically. I frowned, if this weather really made him so weak, maybe he should have just stayed home.

"Dammit, this sucks!"

"Kyo, you really shouldn't push yourself so much" I bent so I could look him in the face, "You know, I could carry your umbrella if you need me too. It wouldn't be too much trouble."

Kyo started to blush a little, "L-look you . . ."

"Yes?" I urged.

"Don't "Yes?" me! Why . . . why would I . . . stand under a girls umbrella that a _**girl **_is holding?!" He growled angrily.

"Oh" I realized how that must have wounded his 'manly pride' and sighed, touching a finger to my chin. Just to tease him, I kept talking. "Well, I could always hug you and carry you home as a cat. That-"

"THAT'S EVEN WORSE, YOU MORON!" He exploded.

I giggled and winked at him, "I know," I teased him, "You're just too cute when you're all riled up!"

"WHY YOU-!"

"Miss Cho, are we ready to go now?" Yuki asked, sounding slightly amused by our banter. Tohru was watching us, a strange light glinting in her warm brown eyes.

"Sorry, I guess I got distracted." I looked at Kyo, "Are you feeling well enough to head home?"

"Aaaugh!" He groaned, "You worry too much about everything, it's making me even _**more **_tired!"

"Sorry Kyo" I apologized, resting my hand on his arm. "I guess I pushed it too far. Can I ask you a question though?"

He sighed, but nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

I twirled my umbrella, "Do others in the zodiac react the way you do to the rain?"

"What?" He shook his head and smiled slightly at me, "No, it's just how my body reacts to this kind of weather"

"Oh, I see" I nodded, "It's like how Ayame can't be out in the cold because he's the snake. You get tired if you're out in the rain."

He chuckled, "Yeah, kinda"

The rest of the walk home was pleasant, and it even stopped raining when we got home. I closed my umbrella and set next to the door to dry.

"Tch" Kyo grumbled, opening the door. "Stupid rain stops the minute we get home!"

"Hey, at least it stopped" I reminded him.

"Yes" Tohru smiled, "But at least its clear skies now!"

"But it would have been nice if it had kept raining, at least then the cat would stay quiet . . ." Yuki sighed regretfully.

"Haaah!" Kyo turned to yell, "Did you say something, you damn rat!"

"_**Ky-ooo~" **_

Kyo went stiff and gasped, I looked around him and saw Kagura looking deceptively cute and adorable as she giggled.

"_**Welcome home!" **_Kagura held her arms outstretched, jogging up to him. _**"My beloved Kyo~"**_

Kyo slammed the sliding door shut, and there was a big thud that came from the other side. It sounded like Kagura had hit her head while she was trying to get to Kyo. I grimaced and stepped back, out of range of the explosion that was bound to happen. Because, let's face it, a flimsy paper door is not going to hold Kagura for very long at all."

"Kyo?!" Kagura's voice was muffled through the door, "Kyo, dear, what's wrong?! The door closed?!"

"Yeah it's closed!" Kyo told her, "And it won't ever open again!"

I took another step back as the door rattled, and flinched as Kaguras fist smashed through the paper door.

"**Open the door . . . now" **She sounded demonic, and Kyo decided to open the door.

I sat around the table with Kagura and Kyo, while Tohru made tea in the kitchen. I could hear her puttering around, humming to herself.

"Well? What do you want?" Kyo asked, he was facing away from her, sitting criss cross. "Tell me your business and let's get this over with!"

"Huh?" Kagura shrugged, "I don't have any buisness"

I smiled warmly at her, "Well, anyway, it's good to see you again Kagura"

"Argh! Then what are you doing here?!"

"Why?" Kagura asked, "Do I need to have a reason to visit you?"

"I don't want you to visit me!" Kyo snapped

"Hey, Kyo" Tohru walked into the room, "You shouldn't have said that!"

I scowled at Kyo's back before looking at Kagura, concerned. "Kagura, are you-"

Kagura snapped, lifting the table up and aiming at Kyo, _**"I love you so . . . so much! How could you do this to me?!"**_

"_**Would you hurry up and figure out that's WHY I don't want to see you!" **_Kyo shouted, bristling in fear.

Suddenly Shigure was there, he grasped the back of Kyo's head and shoved him into Kagura. The change was instantaneous. The girl sighed lovingly and held Kyo to her, a blissful smile on her face.

"Shi-Gu-Re" Kyo stuttered out.

"Kagura" Shigure pushed his hand through his hair, moving it away from his face. "I'll _lend _him to you. Why don't you take him on a date or something?"

"Kyaah! Shii, you say the nicest things!"

"Hey! Wait a minute, what do you mean **lend**" Kyo shouted.

For some strange reason, the word 'date' had me feeling strange. The warm feeling that bubbled up in me wasn't a good one. I didn't like it one bit, it was like, like I was angry, but not at the same time. I grimaced slightly, pushing down on the feeling.

"I'm not going! First of all, I have no reason to go outside!"

"Hm . . . well then, Tohru." Shigure turned to the quiet girl, "Why don't you let them go out and get the groceries for tonight's dinner?"

"Huh?" Tohru asked, slightly surprised.

"Groceries? Okay, let's go!" Kagura chirped.

"I am not going!"

"Um, well, uh" Tohru walked up to Kagura and handed her the note, "Will you please do this favor for me?"

"I said I'm-"

"Of course, just leave it to me!"

Shigure smiled and waved them out, "Be safe out there!"

"Great!" Kagura hooked an arm around Kyo's throat, "Let's go on a date!"

Shigure wiped his brow, "Mission accomplished!"

I scowled at the dog, irritated that I was so . . . irritated they were going out on a stupid date. "Ah, whatever. I'm going out, call me if you need anything."

First though, I changed out of my school uniform into a pair of dark wash flare jeans and a tight purple knit sweater. I stuffed my beanie on my head and put my gloves on before leaving the house. I'm not sure where I was going, but I just needed to go somewhere where I could sort out these feelings inside me.

It took a while for me to figure out where I was going, but when I did, it made me smile. My own feet had lead me to Kyoko's grave. With a sigh, I sat down in front of the head stone and took off my hat.

"Hey Kyoko" I murmured, "I hope I'm not bothering you or anything. But, I had to get out of the house to think. I'm just . . . confused right now." I started ringing my hat in my hands, twisting it back and forth. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Shigure did something, and . . . and for some reason, it pissed me off. Well, that's the best I can describe the feeling right now." I sighed, "I don't know . . ."

"Mandy . . .?"

My head shot up, and I blinked in surprise when I saw Hana. She was wearing her usual black lace dress, with a black parasol over her shoulder. Megumi was with her too, he was half hidden behind his sister, looking at me with mild concern.

I stood, shoving my hat back on my head. "Hana, 'Gumi, what're you guys doing here?"

Megumi padded forward stood in front of me with his hands in his pockets, "Sister had feeling, so we came to see what was going on."

I smiled, resting a hand on his head. "Ah, of course." I turned to Hana, who had walked up to us and was now standing in front of Kyoko's grave. "What did the waves tell you?"

"That you were upset" Hana stated frankly, "And that you needed someone to talk to."

I chuckled, "Well, they were right."

"They usually are" Hana told me.

"What's wrong?" Megumi asked quietly.

I bit my bottom lip, slightly unsure. But, with Hana and her brother staring at me like that, I caved. I told them about what had happened before I'd left the house. About how I'd felt when Shigure pushed Kyo into going on a date with Kagura, and how I didn't like the feeling, whatever feeling that was.

Hana spun her parasol thoughtfully, "It seems to me, like you were jealous. Yes, that's the right word. I can read it in your waves"

"No, no, that's not . . ." I paused, thinking it over. Was that what I'd been feeling? "Really?" I asked meekly, "I'm . . . jealous. Oh god, why am I jealous over Kyo going on a date with another girl?"

Hana just looked at me with that knowing gaze of hers, making me slump slightly. Was it possible? Could I . . . could I actually . . . "Oh god, I, I _like _Kyo?!"

Hana shrugged, "Honestly, I've been waiting for one of you to figure it out sooner or later. It's quite obvious when one looks at it from the outside. The question is, are you going to act upon your feelings?"

I grimaced instantly, thinking about Yuki's fan girls. How they constantly bombarded Yuki with their feeling with no thought to his own. I didn't want to be like them, forcing my feelings, however newly found, upon someone unwillingly. Especially with Kyo, with how he reacts to Kagura's feelings, actually any girls' feelings, I couldn't do it.

"We're just beginning to become really good friends" I told them truthfully, "I can't, I won't, jeopardize that for anything. What if I tell him and he doesn't feel the same? It would ruin the good things we've got going!"

"Then don't" Megumi told me seriously, "Mandy, you're nothing like those girls. You care, that's the difference. Wait, then. Wait until he is ready."

I blinked back a sudden wave of grateful tears, "Man, you guys are the best." I pulled them in for a hug, "I love you two"

"We love you too" Hana told me gently, "Now, you should be getting home. It is going to start raining soon."

I smiled when the first drop hit my nose, "Alright, bye!"

Once they were gone, I turned to Kyoko's grave and chuckled. There was no doubt about it, she'd somehow gotten them here for me.

The walk home was a more cheerful one than the walk to the temple. I was feeling lighter, like a big weight had been lifted off of my chest with the revelation that I had a _crush _on Kyo Sohma. I wouldn't say anything, Kyo wasn't ready for that kind of revelation. The boy still had a lot of growing up to do.

I would wait, that was the right thing to do. I would keep going as I have been, as just a good friend, and keep getting closer to the Sohma's.

When I got to the front of the house, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. A man with long brown hair was standing in front of our door, looking as if he was contemplating knocking.

"Shi- Shishou?!" Kyo's shocked voice made me blink.

This was his master? Mister Miagi he definitely was not! Kyo ran up to him, "Shishou?"

His Shishou smiled warmly, "You are looking well . . . Kyo"

Oh. My. God!

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><p><strong>Oh crap, I am so SORRY guys!<strong>

**I did not mean to go this long without updating Year of the Dog, but WiFi at home is down and work has been hell. I am posting this from New Mexico, somewhere in the desert. **

**Me, my boyfriend, and my best friend had wanted to surprise her boyfriend by coming to surprise him in New Mexico, but that plan went down the drain. As it turns out, her boyfriend had been two steps ahead of us the whole time. When we landed at the airport HE WAS ALREADY THERE! The little shit met us at the airport and then he PROPOSED to her!**

**Guys! He proposed to her!**

**I almost cried, but anyways, I'll just get on to thanking my reviewers now. . .**

**LadyAmazon: I can't get over your review! It was awesome, thank you for reading my story!  
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**The Yoshinator: I'm happy that you loved it, thank you for your review!  
><strong>

**Ninja-Bunny-Master:I can't wait for Hiro! Maybe I'll make Mandy act like a mean older sister . hehe . **


	29. Secrets, Secrets, and Hope?

**Here you all go! Another chapter while I still have WiFi to leech!**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own Fruits Basket blah blah blahh. . . .**

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><p>"I'm glad to see you're doing well, Kazuma"<p>

"And you, Shigure . . ." Kazuma smiled slightly, "I'm delighted that your work is going well"

Shigure laughed, "Oh well, it's doing alright I guess,"

I was fascinated, this was the man that Kyo got so animated talking about! His Shishou, who taught him martial arts! Kazuma Sohma was an attractive man with brown hair and warm brown eyes, I wanted to know more about him, but Kyo wasn't exactly speaking at the moment. From the moment we'd all seen Kazuma Sohma standing on the doorsteps, Kyo had been quiet. After his initial greeting, that is. I couldn't help smiling at the look of pure joy on his face when he saw his Shishou. But, now, he wasn't speaking to anybody.

No, he was staring at the floor, surprisingly sullen. I reached out and touched his ankle, silently asking if he was okay. Kyo's scarlet gaze jumped to me, and he just shrugged at my probing gaze, pulling his ankle into him.

"*Shihan!" Kagura beamed, "It's nice to see you again! It's been such a long time!"

"Yes, it has been a long time, hasn't it, Kagura?" Kazuma chuckled.

Yuki walked up behind a surprisingly silent Tohru, gripping his arm. "It's been a long time . . . Shihan"

I blinked in surprise, so, he taught Kagura and Yuki as well? Kazuma looked slightly surprised, "You've gotten taller, and you've fleshed out . . . Yuki"

Ah, what was going on? I was confused now. Tohru looked at me with the same look of confusion swimming in her brown eyes.

"Tohru, Amanda, this is Kazuma Sohma" Shigure introduced us, "He is not only Kyo's Shishou, he also teaches Yuki, Kagura, and Hatsuharu in the martial arts."

"Oh!" Tohru's eyes got really big, "Wow, that's amazing!"

I nodded, smiling affectionately at Tohru. "Yeah, it's really cool! Maybe Kyo can take me to the Dojo and we can practice there instead of in the yard."

"Tohru, Amanda, can I call you that?" Kazuma asked us.

"Y-Yes! Of course! My name is Tohru Honda!" Tohru said, spazzing slightly.

I laid a calming hand on her shoulder, "My name is Amanda Cho, but I prefer Mandy"

"I see . . ." Kazuma looked down, "So you two, you're the young ladies. Rumor has it, you know about the zodiac curse."

"Yes, we do" I told him, tilting my head slightly.

"I see . . ."

"Kyo!" Shigure suddenly spouted off, "Don't just sit there in the corner! Say something! It's been a while since you've last seen him, right? Aren't you excited to see him?"

"Ah!" Kyo was put in the spot, ". . . of course not!"

I wasn't at all surprised when he shot up and stormed up to his room. I glared at Shigure,

"Shigure, you know better! Damn dog. . ." I stood to go check on him at the same time Kazuma stood, "Ah . . ."

"Which room is Kyo's?" He asked me.

"Um, it's on the second floor at the end of the hall on the right. I could show you if you like?" I offered, blushing slightly.

Kazuma is a very hansom man. Wow, hanging around the Sohma's is gonna give me a complex.

"That's alright, I can find it myself" He headed upstairs.

"That's just like him" Shigure smiled.

"It really is" Kagura giggled.

"Just like what?" Tohru asked, looking confused.

"Oh, no . . ." Shigure said, "We're just saying that Kyo . . ."

Kagura leaned in to whisper to Tohru and me, "Kyo is really happy about Shishou's visit, he just doesn't want us to know about it. Especially Yuki!"

I giggled, "It makes sense, that, and Kyo really doesn't handle pressure all too well, right?"

"Right!"

Kagura, Tohru, and I all gathered into the kitchen to make dinner. I was making Kyo's favorite fish, while Tohru stirred the hot pot and Kagura chopped.

"So, Kagura" I played with a rag, slightly unsure how to phrase my question.

"Kazuma isn't part of the 12 zodiac, right?" Tohru picked up where I left off.

"No" Kagura nodded, "But he's part of the people on the "Inside". They say that the person who was possessed by the cat spirit before Kyo, was Shihan's Grandfather. That's why, Shihan might be the one who can best relate to Kyo"

"But it's like Shihan cares for Kyo more than that. He watched over Kyo so that he wouldn't get hurt . . . like a fatherly figure."

I put the fish in the oven, thinking. "A fatherly figure, huh?"

~LINE BREAK~

"Shihan is going to stay the night here tonight, right?" Kagura chirped happily, after dinner. "I'm staying too! Shii said it was okay!"

"What the hell?!" Kyo growled, "Go home!"

"Ehhhh?!" Kagura pouted.

I rolled my eyes and hooked an arm around Kagura, "Don't worry, you can sleep in mine and Tohru's room tonight"

"Yay!" she cheered, looping her arms around my neck.

I smiled affectionately, no matter what my newly found feelings were, Kagura was still a sweetheart to me and Tohru. I wasn't going to ruin a friendship over jealousy.

"Where should we lay out Kazuma's futon?" Tohru asked Yuki, "In Shigure's room?"

I grimaced at the thought of him sleeping in Shigure's mess of a room. "I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy, his room is almost as bad as the kitchen was when we first moved in"

"Ah" Kagura touched a finger to her cheek, "I wonder if Kyo's room would be the best?"

"You're right, that would be best!" Tohru agreed happily.

"Why can't he sleep in the living room?" Kyo complained, "He's not a kid anymore!"

"I'll go ask!" Kagura started off, Tohru following her.

"Hey!"

When they took off I sat next to Kyo, "You and your Shishou must have a lot to talk about huh?"

"Nothing whatsoever" Kyo grumbled.

I rolled my eyes, "If you say so, I just . . ." I smiled shyly, "I hope I'll be able to see a match between the two of you someday. That would be something to see."

"Miss Cho?" Yuki called, holding up some clean rags. "What should I do with this?"

I patted Kyo's head before turning to Yuki with a grin, "Silly, honestly, what would you do without us?"

"Go back to take out and get fat?" Yuki shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"Oh honey" I patted his cheek, "We couldn't allow that! Think about the fan girls at school!"

The look on his face had me throwing back my head with a laugh, oh man, this guy was just too easy to tease! I took the towels and went to put them in the hall closet, where they wouldn't end up in the dirty clothes again.

I ran into Kazuma in the hallway, "Ah, Kazuma-sensei! Did Kagura and Tohru talk to you and Shigure then?"

Kazuma nodded, "Yes, but I wonder . . . could I borrow some of your time tonight?"

"Of course!" I agreed instantly, jumping at the chance to speak to the man who was like a father to Kyo. Maybe I could learn more about my friend.

But, something was off. I couldn't really decipher the look on Kazuma's face, but it made me wonder just what he wanted to talk to me about tonight. Was is bad? Did I do something wrong?

Later that night, I put my beanie on my head again and grabbed my umbrella to meet Kazuma. I was slightly nervous as to what he wanted to talk to me about still, so I was gripping the handle of my umbrella tightly in both hands.

As I came around the house, I hear Kazuma speaking;

"Kyo . . . discover for yourself . . . whether or not your birthright really makes you _worthless_!" I turned the corner just in time to meet Kyo's terrified gaze before Kazuma rip off Kyo's beaded bracelet that he was always wearing.

My umbrella slipped from my numb hands, and I watched, horrified, as Kyo, my Kyo, turned into something monstrous. The smell the invaded the area was horrible, it was as if something was rotting, dead, like something had died and sat in the sun for a long time.

I stared at him, "K-Kyo . . .?"

"_**DON'T LOOK AT ME!" **_It, Kyo, howled, bolting into the trees.

"That . . . was what he has been hiding. The cat's _other _form" Kazuma told me quietly, "Only those possessed by the cat change into that grotesque form. Were you disgusted? Did you think he was frightening?"

I was . . . absolutely terrified. Without thinking, I ran into the trees, after Kyo. I only went a little while before the urge to throw up became too much. I heaved, clearing anything I'd eaten from my stomach.

_Throwing up doesn't help, _I thought, grimacing. But, that . . . that was Kyo! In his other form. That must have been what Kagura was talking about when we first met, the reason why Kyo had been so angry with her. He changed into a monster, and smelled like the dead. It was awful.

What should I do?! I don't know anymore! It's all too much!

I started moving randomly, dazed and confused. I couldn't go after him . . . but what if I didn't? He would never come back, I would never see him again! My heart ached just thinking that I would never see his wonderful face again.

Clutching my burning stomach, I began to walk with a new determination. I wouldn't let him leave, _I_ _wouldn't let him!_

I found him at the stream, slashing at a rock and howling. I almost heaved when the stench hit me again, but I stopped myself.

"Kyo" I croaked, "Kyo . . . Stop . . ."

"_**STAY AWAY!" **_He growled at me like an animal, "_**What . . . what are you doing? How can you just act . . . like nothing's wrong?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! **_

I stumbled closer, ignoring his warnings. "K-Kyo, please . . ."

"_**I told you to stay away! What the hell's your problem!? Can't you see?! Smell?!" **_He snarled, _**"I'm disgusting, aren't I? I'm sickening, aren't I? Why won't you leave me alone! **_**I DON"T WANT YOUR PITY!"**

I kept moving closer and reached for his scaly arm, "Kyo! Shut up! I don't-"

"_**DON'T TOUCH ME!" **_He swung out with a clawed appendage, slashing me across my chest and shoulder, _**"Get lost! You drive me crazy! I can't stand to look at you! Next time I'll cut your face to pieces!"**_

"_**GET LOST!"**_

I stood on trembling legs, ignoring the pain. "I DON'T CARE!" I screamed at him, tears washing down my face. Surprising him, I lunged forward and latched onto his arm. "I don't give a damn Kyo! You have to come back!" If I don't do something, he'll leave forever. "You can't stay here! Come back, and face reality _with _me!"

"_**Stop it! Let go . . ."**_

I still held onto him, knowing that if I let go, he would bolt. "Don't you get it Kyo?!"

"_**No, I don't!"**_

"I am terrified!" I cried, "Kyo, I'm completely scared right now! You, right here in front of me, I don't see you, you don't even smell like you! But, but I can hear your voice! It doesn't feel like you, so of course I'm scared!" I rested my forehead against his arm, "But, Kyo, I know you! I _won't_ let you run away! From now on, I want us to live together, talk together, listen to each other's problems and feelings!" I wouldn't let him take all of this on by himself, "Kyo, I wasn't to understand you! Your pain, your fear and misunderstandings! I want to know all of them!"

"So, please!" I begged, feeling my chest and shoulder burn as I sobbed. "Come back home with me, so we can figure this out _together!_ I want us to be together, to eat meals together, and to study together! I WAN'T TO STAY TOGETHER DAMMIT!"

I was suddenly shocked by the feeling of human flesh under my hands and forehead. I looked up at him, feeling the tears streaking down my face.

"Y-you . . . you don't have to love . . . everything" He said gently, staring at my hands on his shoulder with scarlet eyes, "It's okay . . . if you were scared. It's okay. All along, this is what I wanted. Someone to share my worries with. Let's go on living _**together**_!"

Kyo did something surprising then, he hooked a hand behind my head and grabbed my arm, pulling me into him. He turned his face into my hair, "Mandy . . . **Mandy!**"

Then he transformed into an orange cat, laying half in my lap, draped in his pants. "Kyo?"

He was asleep. With a happy sob, I gathered him up in my arms and hooked his pants over my shoulder. I would carry him, and his heavy heart, home where he belonged.

Daylight was breaking, and Kazuma was waiting, when I walked out of the forest. Kyo was cradled in my arms, and I rubbed my cheek against his forehead. I walked up to Kazuma, a soft smile pulling at my lips.

"Thank you" I told him quietly.

_Thank you, for everything. . ._

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><p><strong>Hey everyone! I just wanted to thank you for not abandoning my story! You guys are seriously amazing.<strong>

**A big thanks to my reviewers too!**

**KaiFukugawa: Don't go insane! Here's your chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**GiraffePanda2: I'm glad that you think I'm doing a great job, thank you so much! This part always made me a little sad, but I love it anyway! Thank you for reviewing!  
><strong>

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><strong>

**By the way, I'm posting this while I'm fighting a cold. My throat hurts and I feel tired. But! I love you guys to much to let that get in the way of me posting this for you! I hope you enjoyed and I really hope you-all review!**

**BYE-BYE!**


	30. Tears, Broken Fences, and Tickling!

**HEYOOOO! Here's Chapter 30 for y'all!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to Natsuki Takaya, sadly. I only own Mandy and whatever other OC's show up along the way.**

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><p>That night, after I'd laid Kyo in his bed, I sat at the table and let Kagura patch me up. She was unusually quiet too, looking anywhere but right at me.<p>

"Kagura" I said her name tentatively, "W-Where's Tohru?"

She dabbed at the cuts on my shoulder, "Yuki took her to his room. She, she saw too." She noticed my worried look and shook her head, "Yuki talked her down, and with how understanding Tohru is, she's just worried about you two catching colds."

I chuckled, wincing at the sting of the antiseptic on my wounds. Kagura went back to being thoughtfully silent. I reached out and laid my hand over hers, "Kagura, are _you _okay?"

She was silent until she finished bandaging my wound, "I guess, I'm just jealous"

Okay, now I was confused. So I asked, "How so?"

"When Kyo and I were little" Kagura began, "We played together a lot. I thought his bracelet was cute, and wanted to try it on. That's when I saw it, his _other _form. I'm jealous that you were able to go after him, I ran away. I left him alone in the Sohma playground."

"Kagura, you were a _kid. _I don't think any child would have done otherwise" I comforted her, "Seriously, I can't believe Kyo would hold that against you." I snorted, "He's not _that _much of an insensitive bastard"

Kagura smiled, blinking back obvious tears. I reached out and pulled her in for a hug, because, seriously, she really needed one right now. Kagura sniffled and hugged me back, burying her face in my shoulder. I smiled warmly and began humming.

Kagura slept in my bed that night, while I shared a bed with a concerned Tohru.

The next morning I woke up early, in time to see off Kazuma. It was a comfortable silence that was only broken when Kazuma and I stopped at the end of the road leading to the house.

"I will be fine from here" Kazuma said, "Thank you"

I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my sweater, "No Kazuma-Sensei, thank you. But, I still think you should tell Kyo that you're leaving. I know I'm being nosy, but please . . ."

"I don't know." Kazuma smiled sadly, "The reason I took Kyo in, was to atone. My grandfather was possessed by the cat, just like Kyo is. He was estranged by his immediate family, slandered by his relatives. They treated him very badly. And . . . I was one of them. I only met my grandfather once, and I said something terribly cruel."

I reached out and touched his arm, silently urging him to keep talking if he could. "My grandfather died, and I grew up. When Kyo was born, I saw firsthand the harsh reality he had to face because of what he was born into, and it hit me."

"It was no different than us, back then" He told me, "I acted exactly the same way. And so, I took him in to atone for what I'd done. It may have started from selfish desire to ease my own guilt, however, before I knew it, I came to **love **him. I felt like, I had become his father. But, this time, I ignored is will and took his beads from him. I forced my one-sided feelings onto him."

"That is why, I do not know what I could have said. I forced my will on him. Saying "Good for you" would have been too . . ." The word _selfish _rang unsaid through the air, and he smiled warmly at me. "Anyway, I only created the impetus, the one who really saved Kyo . . . is _you. _Because you were there for him . . . Kyo . . ."

I stepped forward, blushing hotly, and stopped him, "Kazuma-Sensei, are you really selfish? I may not know what a real father is like, but . . . right here" I put a hand over my chest, "Is warm. I may not know what your thoughts are, Kazuma-Sensei, but to me, you feel like a great father. Okay?"

I hugged him quickly, "I don't doubt Kyo feels the same way. So, you shouldn't either."

He looked shocked, like he wasn't quite sure what to say. He was just opening his mouth to say something when a shout rang out behind us.

"**Shishou!"**

I spun, smiling widely. "Kyo!"

But the boy wasn't paying any attention to me, he started running at us, and shocked me by throwing a punch at his Shishou.

"Argh!" He threw a punch, "Why . . . why . . .?!" He punctuated each word with a punch, "Why would you just leave without saying anything? Why would you just run away like that?!"

Kazuma smacked Kyo in the side of the head with his arm, "Kyo . . ."

"What is it?!" Kyo asked, throwing more punches. "Did you think I'd get mad or something?! Or are you . . . are you sick of me?!"

I wanted to reach out and just hold his hand, to comfort him. But I couldn't, this was his battle. He needed to sort things out with the man he considered his father.

"But, even though I'm like this now . . . being so useless, but one day . . . one day I will stand up tall and bravely walk my path. I won't be hurt again, I won't be a burden to anyone again. Shishou I . . ." He looked at his master with a feverish light in his eyes, "I hope, one day I will have the courage to say that Shishou is my father! I know that definitely," He lunged at Kazuma, who caught his punch with the flat of his hand. "I can do it!"

The smile Kazuma sent Kyo was so warm it made my heat flutter, and that lasted for about a second, until he shouldered Kyo so hard he went into the fence along the side of the road.

"You still have much to learn" Kazuma told him gently, "You are still in need of my care, son. Kyo . . ."

Kyo began picking himself up, a blush staining his cheeks. "Then . . . but you didn't have to send me flying."

"You can't even dodge that, are your reflexes slowing lately?"

Ah, this was much better. I closed my eyes and smiled, glad they were happy. Glad that I was right in thinking that Kyo did actually think of Kazuma as his father.

"Mandy!" Kyo's voice had me jumping, he turned away from Kazuma. "Did you see just now?"

"Yes" I teased, "I saw you get tossed threw a fence"

"Ehh?!" Kyo grinned, a real smile. "I was right. I said Shishou is very strong."

His smile was so warm, it had me blushing. "Yes, he is. I noticed, right after he sent you flying!"

Kyo hooked his arm around my head, "Hey, I know I can't beat Shishou!"

"Ah!" I laughed, struggling to get away without turning him into a cat. "Kyo! Haha! Stop it!"

That's when I turned the tables and began to tickle the hell out of him. Let's just say, I don't think he knew he could let out such a girly sound.

"Eagh!"

When Kyo and I were done rough-housing, Kazuma was gone. I looked at Kyo, wondering if his Master's quick escape was going to send him into another outburst, but all he did was sigh and ruffle his hair.

To distract him, I grabbed his hand and began to drag him home, teasing. "Wow, Kyo, I didn't know you could sound so girly!"

"Why you little-!"

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><p><strong>Hey you gu~uys! <strong>

**Oh wow, this chapter was really short, and I apologize for that, but this is what felt right. Reading my last bit of reviews has made me decide to update this as early as I could, and I hope you-all liked it! Speaking of reviews . . .**

**Holy crap buckets guys! Im up to 94 reviews! Ahhhhhh! This makes me so happy! Seriously though, I never thought I would get this many reviews for this story. **

**I'm gonna thank the reviewers before I turn into a sniveling mess now. . .**

**Rihimesama: I'm happy that you thought it was awesome! Hearing that from my reviewers makes me wanna dance! Thank you for reviewing my story!**

**LadyAmazon" *Bows* Yayayay! That was the reaction I was hoping for! But, I love your story my friend, I do! That last chapter at the Beach? LOVED IT! Thank you for reviewing on my story!**

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**BYE-BYE!**


	31. Training and Crazy Snakes!

"So" Shigure peered at Kyo, "You're going to start training at Kazuma's again? But why just three days a week?"

Kyo shielded his eyes with his bangs, "That's because . . ."

"That's because" what?" Shigure pressed.

"It's none of your business! Just don't bother me!" Kyo snapped at the annoying man.

I rolled my eyes, picking through the food on my plate. As per usual, Shigure was on Kyo's case as soon as the kid was upright. It was too early for this crap, and if this was how he was going to react to the fact that Kyo would be going back to the Dojo, then I sure as hell wasn't gonna tell him. I wouldn't keep it a secret, but the man sure won't learn it from me.

Beside's, I couldn't do anything serious until my wound healed up. My range of movement with that arm was pretty limited at the moment.

Especially after all the crap that had led up to it. I was mentally exhausted.

Shigure cupped his chin, "Hm? Sounds a bit fishy, eh? Tohru, Mandy, do you know why?"

"Huh?" Tohru gasped, slightly shocked.

I rolled my eyes and rudely pointed my chopsticks at him, "You are being abnormally nosy this morning."

"Can you not ask them every single thing?!" Kyo shouted, obviously irritated.

"Good morning"

Tohru perked up and smiled, "Good morning Yuki!"

"Morning Yuki," I waved with two fingers, "Breakfast?"

"Who's arguing so early in the morning?" Yuki caught sight of the culprits, "Those two . . ."

"They seem to be arguing over "why three days a week?"" Tohru explained to him as he sat down between her and me.

"Must be about something useless then" Yuki muttered.

"Don't randomly guess other peoples reasons!" Kyo snapped at him, before turning on Shigure. "Shigure, don't overdo things like this!"

I fingered the ends of my hair, slipping a piece of omelet into my mouth. "I feel like this is going to escalate very quickly."

Of course, that was when Yuki and Kyo accidentally clacked their chopsticks together. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Yuki stood abruptly, tossing his utensils onto the counter. I rolled my eyes, wondering where this was going to go next.

"YOU'RE THROWING THEM AWAY?!" Kyo shouted in disbelief.

"To prevent the spread of the idiot disease"

I smacked my hand to my forehead, groaning in annoyance. Shigure was just sitting there, snickering quietly, so I reached out and flicked his nose. This was all his fault anyway. He just had to needle Kyo until he snapped.

"Ugh" Kyo growled quietly, "Whatever you say, idiot rat. . . I won't sink to your level. I have changed."

"That's right Kyo" I murmured around my food, "You tell him"

"Mandy" Shigure said, "They're already arguing, towards me too. Didn't you hear?"

Yuki sat back down with a new pair of chopsticks, and broke them apart. ". . . You should at least try to control yourself a bit right? **Stu-pid-cat**"

_**"YOU GIRL!"**_

"He lost it" Yuki and Shigure chorused.

"Ugh" I rubbed my temples, "If you two would just stop egging him on, we wouldn't have this problem . . ."

"-You are annoying! I will forever hate you, until the day you are lying in your grave!"

"Kyo . . ." Tohru murmured, eyes darting between our boys.

That's when Kyo punched through the sliding door and stormed out of the house, shouting "Idiot" along the way. I sighed, finishing off my food. I guess it would be unrealistic to expect him to change suddenly after making his promises to Kazuma. At least the two didn't fight it out this time.

"Those should be my lines" Yuki muttered, "Until the day I die, I will continue hating him."

Tohru stared at him, a worried look in her eyes. I reached out, sliding a hand over hers, trying to reassure her that it would be alright. Suddenly Yuki smiled brightly at Tohru.

"Miss Honda, do you need help reviewing for the final exam?"

"Ah . . . that . . ." Tohru smiled sheepishly, "Not yet."

I picked up my dishes, taking them to the sink, still thinking about Kyo. After all of the . . . _stuff _that had happened, I guess I was really happy. Mostly because I was finally starting to understand about Kyo and his feelings. But, the only thing I was really worried about, was Kagura. When I'd gone back upstairs after seeing Kazuma off, she'd been gone. It worried me, because we haven't seen her around since. I hope what I'd told her had helped her through her feelings of that night.

Tohru though, she was worried about Yuki, not that I blamed her. He hasn't been in a good mood for days. Tohru seemed to have bounced back after seeing Kyo's "true form" but I couldn't help but wonder if Yuki was having problems with it.

School that day was your usual day of learning. In other words, it was boring as hell. One interesting thing happened though, or at least, I think it did, because by the end of the day both Tohru and Yuki looked much happier than they had this morning.

It was weird. I'd just have to ask Ru about it later. But after Kyo and I got back from the dojo. First though, why the hell was Haru following us home?

Kyo voiced my question, "Why is Haru coming home with us?"

I raised a finger, "I was kinda wondering about that too."

"Because someone invited me over" Haru said, his empty hands in his pockets.

"I'll make something that you like Haru!" Tohru chirped, smiling happily.

Kyo's voice was flat, "Why? Why does it have to be like this?

I tried to smother a giggle, but it was impossible. Especially when Haru crept up behind Yuki and slung his arm over the rats shoulder. It was even more impossible when I saw the put-upon look on Yuki's face. The boy looked just about done with Haru's shenanigans.

"That's both of our _**s-e-c-r-e-t**_"

Kyo turned away, a faintly disgusted look on his face. "What-ever! I shouldn't have expected a normal answer from you"

I cleared my throat, "No. No you shouldn't have. You'd think you would have learned that by now, after all, Haru is your cousin."

He elbowed me lightly, before turning to Tohru. "Mandy and I are going to Shishou's today, so don't expect us for dinner. Maybe a midnight snack."

Tohru looked at me in surprise, as did Yuki and Haru. Well, Haru's expression was more of a bored intrigue. I shrugged and adjusted bag on my shoulder.

"I didn't feel like having Shigure bug me about it this morning. Sue me."

Yuki nodded, "That is understandable."

Tohru beamed at us, "Okay then, work hard!"

The amiable expression fell off of Kyo's face when we heard a very familiar voice call out. "Hey~ Kyo!"

The next thing I know, is Kagura is planting her boot in the back of Kyo's head, a slightly demonic look on her face. After a second of 'What the hell just happened?' Kagura hefted Kyo up by his pant leg, a blissful smile taking place on her face.

"I'm very happy, since you didn't try to escape from me today!" Kagura crooned.

I winced in sympathy pain. Just because he made a promise not to run away from reality, doesn't mean he shouldn't run away from Kagura when she's like this.

"Ka-Kagura?!" Tohru stuttered, shocked by her entrance.

She began dragging him away, "Alright, come on Kyo! You too Mandy!"

I resisted the urge to duck behind Haru and use him as a meat shield.

"Where are you taking them?" Yuki asked sheepishly, almost hesitantly.

"Huh?" Kagura switched places to Kyo's back, hugging him around his neck. "Sensei's place of course! I'm going to start training there too!"

Of course she was. Because Kyo couldn't do anything without Kagura being there. Ooh, that sounded slightly bitter. But, well, there are some things that Kagura did that I didn't really approve of. Maybe that's just a little bit of the jealousy talking. Oh, who am I kidding? I had been looking forward to having some alone time to spend with Kyo.

Oh well. I guess that's just how it is.

"She seems to be a little bit better" Haru murmured.

I blinked, remembering how she'd been the last time I'd seen her. "I suppose she is, isn't she?"

If this is what it took for her to feel better, then I suppose I could deal with it.

"She's fighting her own battle too" Yuki smiled lightly at Tohru, "Kagura . . . in her own way."

"_**Don't try to change the topic!**_" Kagura growled, suddenly choking Kyo around the neck. "_**Let's hurry up!**_" I let out a light squeak when Kagura turned on me and gripped my wrist, "You too Mandy!"

In the purely selfish thought for my own wellbeing, I chirped, "Alright! Let's get going!"

She turned and waved cheerily at the others, "See you Yuki, Haru, and Tohru!"

"Yes! Take care!" Tohru waved us off.

Y'know, for some reason, I think it was a good thing that Kyo and I went with Kagura. It would be fun. And my sudden change in attitude had nothing to do with the phone call between Shigure and Ayame I'd overheard last night.

Poor Yuki would have a surprise in store for him when he got home.

I was such a bad person . . .

_**~LINE BREAK~**_

I was never going to partner up with Kagura again. Like, never ever again. That girl just doesn't get the concept of "Play Nice". Kyo had to save me several times from her being so overenthusiastic in helping me train. My arm was so sore . . . so, as soon as I got home I slugged down a couple of Advil before I did anything.

Kyo had deposited me in my bed when we got home, and I saw no reason to be getting up before nine tomorrow. None at all.

Did I forget to mention that Ayame was here? Yeah, one second I'm passed out on my bed, and the next the white haired freak was looming over my bed with a cheery grin on his face.

"Mandy! It would probably be best for you to sit this one out, no?"

I glared at him, baring my teeth. "Ayame, what the hell are you talking about?"

He made a dramatic gesture, placing the back of his hand to his forehead. "Why, coming to my store! Tohru and the cold Heartless Yuki have agreed to come to my beloved store!"

"What the-"I groaned, forcing myself out of my bed. "Get out you crazy nutso!" I then spun him around and proceeded to shove the man out of my room, "And next time knock before going into someone's room!"

"Well, that's just what Kyo sai-"

_**SLAM!**_

I stumbled back to my bed with a happy sigh, flopping onto the covers and promptly passing out. I was so not in the mood for dealing with Ayame.

Crazy ass snake.


	32. Hugging is a Punishment?

***Crawls into room groveling* I am sooooooo sorry you guys! I had a fiasco with my computer, and the airport, and I only just got it back from the computer shop. They took my computer, told me to wait for his call in about a week, and then forgot about my computer for two months! I love you guys so much!**

**That's why I did a double update today! Please enjoy! This one is longer than the last one . . .**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, only Mandy and any other OC's that may or may not show up.**

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><p>So, according to Tohru, going to Ayame's shop helped bridge the gap between the brothers a bit. Which was great, honestly. Maybe then Ayame would mellow out a bit . . . nah, who am I kidding, it'll probably make it worse. Damn it.<p>

Oh well, at least we had Kisa here with us today. Even if she did bring the stupidest looking anime with her for us to watch. Her and Tohru were totally into it, while Yuki and I were more into watching their reactions and making stupid little comments to each other.

"His opponent really has been through a lot of suffering . . ." Tohru murmured thoughtfully, "Even his wife is facing problems of her own . . . this is really complicated."

I shared an exasperated glance with Yuki and leaned against Kisa, "Yeah . . ."

This anime has a lot of problems of its own.

"Morning!" A yawning Shigure came shuffling into the room.

"Morning!" Tohru replied cheerily, at the same time I said: "Afternoon, you lazy dog"

Yuki turned to look at Shigure, his face deadpan. "Shigure . . . it's already evening. Shouldn't you really organize you daily lifestyle better?"

"I'm a writer, so it doesn't really matter when I sleep . . ." Shigure waved Yuki off, before zooming in on Kisa. "Eh? This girl looks a lot like Kisa, uncle will buy you some sweets . . ."

I planted my face into my palm, trying to stop my twitching eyebrow. "God Shigure, why? Why do you insist on saying crap like that?"

"Either your lack of sleep seems to have boggled your mind, or are you really the irresponsible father we think you are?" Yuki muttered darkly.

Shigure latched onto Kisa, fake tears in his eyes. "Yuki's his usual, cold self as always . . ."

Sometimes I really didn't know if Shigure meant to act like an idiot, or if he really was one. I got the feeling it was a little of both.

"Let go of her, you'll infect her with your evil germs"

I snickered, taking a drink of my tea to prevent full blown laughter. Some background noise from the TV must have caught Shigure's attention, because the man looked at the television quizzically.

"Eh? What are you people watching?"

"Something Kisa brought over" I said, popping my neck.

He stared at me, a grossed out expression on his face.

"A cartoon . . . it's very interesting" Kisa spoke up, "Everyone's talking about it at school, so I borrowed it."

"I've seen it before, and the movies quite good" Tohru added cheerfully.

Shigure tilted his head, smiling gently at Kisa. "So, after that incident at school . . . what happened?"

"Mm . . ." Kisa smiled sweetly, "I'm trying my best. My mother, and my brothers and sisters . . . all supporting and encouraging me . . . so I will do my best . . ."

Tohru and I tackle hugged her at the same time, "I really love you!"

"They're just bursting with love" Shigure sighed, at the exact moment that Kyo came through the door. "Ah, the benevolent youth is back!"

Tohru stood to greet him, "Welcome back Kyo!"

"I'm hungry"

I stood and stretched, "Don't worry, foods on for dinner."

That's when Kyo caught sight of Kisa, "What's this? Is this little brat really planning on staying here tonight?"

I reached out and jabbed my finger into his side, "Kyo . . ."

"Hey!" Yuki huffed, "You should watch what you say!"

"_**AH?!**_ Don't tell me what to do! I can say what-ever I want!" then he stomped into the kitchen.

"I got this Ru, how hard can taking rice off the steamer be?" I patted her shoulder and followed the irate boy, "Kyo, if you're going to be grumpy, do it to Shigure"

"Hey!"

"Ah stuff it"

I slipped on my oven mitts and proceeded to remove the rice from the steamer. Kyo paused mid drink, "If she gets scared I don't care."

"I don't think she's scared" I disagreed, "More like excited."

"Are . . . are you alright?"

I paused, "What?"

"Your . . . your shoulder. I hurt you." He clarified, peering into his water.

Oh! I set the rice on the counter and walked up to him. He was still worrying about that? What a sweetie.

"I'm perfectly fine Kyo" I assured him, taking off my oven mitts. "No worries"

"What about scars?"

"None!" I scooted my collar over to show him, "See? I told you I was perfectly okay!"

"Is that so . . ." Kyo ruffled his hair, obviously relieved. "That's great" then he got all defensive, "N-not that I really care about you! It's just, if I left a scar on you, as a girl . . . I must admit, it would have been my fault."

I stared at him, a smile creeping up my face. He was such a guy, getting all defensive so he didn't look like wimp. He wasn't though, even if he didn't want to seem caring, Kyo really was a wonderful person.

Suddenly he knocked his knuckles against my forehead.

"Hey!"

"What are you smiling about?"

Suddenly Shigure slid open the door, "Ah, the wonders of teenage years. Great times . . ."

Kyo blushed, and if he'd been in cat form all his hair would have been on end. "_**WHA?!**_ What are you looking at?"

"People used to relate young teenagers to new sprouts in springtime!" Shigure sighed whimsically, "But just try not to flirt too much around here, and more importantly, watch your attitude!"

I blushed hotly, turning back to the rice. That Shigure . . . he didn't know when to shut his mouth. Kyo wouldn't know what real flirting was if it bit him on the butt. He'd been the victim of Kagura for far too long. I mean, I really liked the girl, but you have to agree, she was a bit overbearing at times.

"_**WHO SAYS IM FLIRTING?!"**_

See? What'd I tell you?

_**~LINE BREAK~**_

"Yo, Mandy, do you work tonight?" Uo asked me, staring after Tohru as she left for work.

I shook my head, watching Saki braid the Yankee's hair, "Nuh-uh, I work tomorrow night, but I do have plans for tonight. I've been training at Kyo's master's Dojo."

Uo peered at me, "Are you having problems? Do I need to lend you my lead pipe?"

"No!" I laughed, leaning back in my chair. "I'll let you stick with that."

She sighed, "Oi . . . I wish the summer holidays could be sooner."

"Yeah" Saki agreed, "Then we could go along and have fun with Tohru and Mandy . . ."

Damn it, now I felt bad. We haven't been spending as much time with Saki and Uo lately.

I pouted, "I'm sorry you guys"

"Nah, that's okay" Uo stood up and went over to Kyo and Shou's desk, planting her foot on their desk. "Looks like we're stuck with you guys today! Let's go play bowling! Bowling!"

Saki just continued playing with her hair, totally indifferent.

"That isn't the way to invite people!" Kyo yelped, even though that was exactly how he did it too.

Shou smiled, "I wanna go bowling! Let's go bowling!"

I snickered, sitting on Kyo's desk. "I love hanging around you guys."

Kyo and I left Shou in Saki and Uo's capable hands, and gathered our stuff to head to Kazuma's Dojo. I pitied the poor kid, but not so much that I would stay to rescue him.

When we got to the Dojo, Kyo and I split up to the separate changing room. I was a little jealous of his black Gi, because it looked really good. White makes no one look good. I guess I'd just have to move up the line.

I was pulled out of my musings when we got to the door by Kyo. He scowled at the cute kid sitting in the middle of the wooden flooring. Why was he- oh . . . the kid had his shoes on. I followed Kyo into the Dojo.

"Hiro!" Kyo snapped, "How many times do I have to tell you? Don't wear shoes in the Dojo!"

"What's the big deal? There's no one else around." The kid, Hiro, replied disdainfully. Then he caught sight of me, "Oh, you must be the other one . . ."

Huh?

"It's not about whether anyone else is around!" Kyo growled, "It's a custom!"

"So, just because it's a custom I have to obey it? If it tells me to die do I go and die? If it tells me to murder do I go and kill?" Hiro smirked sarcastically, "You really make a lot of sense!"

Uh . . . what? I stared at the kid, stunned. What the hell kind of kid was this? He was all cute and adorable, that is, until he talks.

"You twisted, smart-mouthed little brat" Kyo clenched his fist, "You're still an inexperienced disgusting little midget . . ."

Hiro looked away indifferently, "Then why bother arguing with a little midget?"

"_**WATCH ME PUMMEL YOU INTO THE SKY!"**_

I quickly placed myself between the two, "Kyo don't-"

"Hiro!" Tohru appeared in the door panting and obviously distressed, "Hiro . . . my journal! Can I have my journal?!"

What the- I looked at Hiro, finally noticing the little green journal in his hands. That was Tohru's! I turned on Hiro, forgetting trying to stop Kyo from pummeling him. It had a picture of Kyoko in it, and he was going to give it back if I had to beat it out of him.

"Hey!" I went to try and snatch it from him, "How did you get that?!"

Hiro held it out of my reach, "Argh . . .! I thought I'd gotten rid of you! How did you manage to find me?!"

"What have you done this time, Hiro?!" Kyo said over my shoulder, scowling.

"What do you take me for?" Hiro asked defensively, "How could you ever make it up to me if you wrongly accuse me of such a crime?!"

"Er . . ." Tohru tried to intercede, "Actually . . ."

"Besides, all I did was take this cheap journal" He waved said journal around, totally unrepentant.

"_**THAT'S CALLED STEALING!" **_Kyo shouted, "**Give it back to her now!**"

"What are you talking about? That dumb girl asked me to take it herself."

"Dumb girl?!" Kyo growled.

"Why you nasty little-" I started to reach for him, but Kyo beat me to it.

He hosted Hiro up by his collar, "Stop fooling around Hiro . . . if you want your ugly little face intact, then I advise that you give it back now!"

"K-Kyo!" Tohru stuttered, trying to placate him.

Really, I should be trying to stop him too, but this little punk got whatever was coming to him.

"If you're not afraid that I'll sue you for child abuse, then go right ahead!" Hiro smirked, a gleam in his eyes.

I reached out and thumped him on top of his head, "Go right ahead you little brat!"

I got shocked looks from all three of them, but honestly, I think he really needed an extreme attitude adjustment that was far more severe than that. Kyo was so surprised he let Hiro slip out of his grasp.

"Hiro . . ." Kisa's sweet little voice came from the doorway.

I looked over, surprised to see both Kisa and Momiji. Kisa stepped into the Dojo, "Hiro, did you take Sissy's journal?"

She knew this kid? I wonder if he was a part of the Zodiac. Probably, since Kyo felt comfortable enough with him to threaten to beat him.

"Ah . . . nice to see you Kisa" Tohru gave a strained smile, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, yeah" I looked between her and Momiji, "Hi,"

"I see . . ." Hiro muttered, nursing his head with one hand. "So, this is all the rabbits doing."

Kisa padded up to Hiro, her hands folded in front of her chest. "Hiro, you must give it back to Sissy. Don't do things that she doesn't like . . . you mustn't do this . . . Hiro . . ."

". . . . You're as dumb as she is" Hiro muttered, clenching the journal before chucking it at Tohru. "I don't want your stupid journal!"

"_**HIRO!" **_Kyo shouted furiously.

Kisa looked shocked while Momiji mumbled something in German. I merely clenched my fist, resisting to bop this kid on the head again. What the hell was wrong with him?

"It-it's alright. It's alright now" Tohru said, trying to stop this from escalating.

"No, it's not alright!" Kyo shouted.

I nodded, "It's really not, Ru."

"Hi . . . Hiro," Kisa said tearfully, grasping his arm. "Why did you do that? Why . . . why would you do something that would make everyone unhappy? I don't like that . . ."

"Sissy and Auntie this, Sissy and Auntie that!" Hiro exploded, rounding on her. "Always, you're always talking about those dumb girls! Like with the video tape! The instant you get it, you run off to watch it with them! But I was the one who lent it to you . . . I wanted to watch it with you!"

Kisa looked confused, "But when you lent it to me . . . you didn't say . . ."

"Do I need to spell everything out for you?!" Hiro replied hotly, blushing bright red. "Use your head!"

"You're going to far Hiro!" Momiji cut in, frowning.

"Shut up Momiji!" Hiro didn't even look away from Kisa, "Even though I couldn't do anything for you. I didn't come to your aid when you had a problem, but all you kept saying was Sissy and Auntie. . . That didn't mean . . . That didn't mean . . . didn't mean that I didn't care about you! Didn't worry about you . . ."

I smirked, realizing what all of this was really about. Little Hiro had a crush on our Kisa. He was jealous of me and Tohru! Oh, this was good. I rested an arm around Tohru's shoulders, sharing a smile with her and Momiji, who was resting his head on her arm.

". . . What just happened?" Kyo asked, looking utterly confused.

"You're so slow Kyo" Momiji sighed.

"Huh?"

"Hiro was picking on Tohru because he has feelings for Kisa" I explained quietly, still smirking.

"Even though he acts tough, he's only in the sixth grade" Momiji agreed, "So immature!"

"I'm sorry Hiro" Kisa apologized sweetly, "Next time I'll definitely watch it with you!"

"So you were always thinking of us as your rivals!" Tohru grinned at the revelation.

Momiji laughed, "Looks like you're in a tough position Tohru, Mandy!"

"Ha . . .!?" Kyo gawked at the two.

Kisa grasped the boys hand, smiling. "But Hiro, shouldn't you still apologize to Sissy?"

Momiji jumped in, "Yeah Hiro! Tohru should be at work by now, but you've made her late!"

I watched Hiro struggle with a straight face, thinking. He seemed like a pretty smart kid, but by what I've seen, he doesn't have many people skills. Like, at all."

"No! Not good enough" Tohru exclaimed, "I won't accept a mere apology! Hiro must endure a harsh punishment!"

"Uh . . ." I stared at her in pure shock, "Tohru?!"

"What . . ." Hiro hesitated, "What do you have in mind?"

Tohru paused to think about it for a few seconds, then surprised us again by lunging and hugging Hiro. "Your punishment is to be hugged by me! Got you!"

I gripped my sides, laughing. "Oh, that was pure Tohru!"

"Idiot" Kyo sighed, "You call that a punishment?"

"So you just wanted to see what animal he was!" Momiji laughed, beaming.

"Time for a proper greeting" Tohru was obscured by Hiro's cloud, "Please take good care of me . . . Hiro Sohma!"

I cooed when the cloud was gone. Hiro was the ram! Albeit, a baby ram, but even if he was a brat, he was cute as all get out.

_**~LINE BREAK~**_

"_Oh my god, I can't take this pressure anymore!"_

"Does that mean if there's no god, you won't be his rival anymore? So I guess it's because you have no courage or willpower? What is the meaning of these dialogues?"

I thumped my head against our table, barely resisting the urge to shove a sock in Hiro's smart mouth. I don't care if he's cute, if he didn't shut up I'd . . .

Maybe you shouldn't analyze cartoons so much Hiro!" Shigure said, "And Mandy, that can't be healthy . . ."

"I don't care" I groaned.

Next time Hiro came over, and as long as Kisa came over there would be a next time, I was shoving his never still mouth with cake. That way he couldn't talk.

Hopefully . . .

* * *

><p><strong>Right, so . . . there it is. The result of me working throughout the day with breaks! I so hoped you liked it, I've been so excited to start writing in Hiro.<strong>

**Such a sassy little sheep!**

**So, please review! I would love it sooooo much!**

**Buh-Bye!**


	33. Sassy Sheep, and a Backstory!

"It's too sweet"

I was going to kill him.

"Do you think kids like anything as long as it's sweet? Did you ever think that it might lead to cavities and diseases when they're adults?"

Dead. With fire.

"I never thought of it that way" Tohru replied.

"What kind of kid complains about sweets and cavities?!" I cried, throwing my hands up. "Honestly, it's one slice of pie! I was just trying to be nice!"

"I hate inconsiderate people"

"Hiro . . ." Kisa said hesitantly.

"It's okay Kisa . . ." Tohru assured the girl.

"It's not okay" Hiro interjected, "Do better from now on."

"Yes! I will do my best!"

Why that little . . . just because he was cute and had a crush on Kisa, he didn't get to go around bossing to his elders! Though, the second one was probably why I refrained from beating him up.

I planted my hand on top of his head, getting head to noogie him. "You better watch-"

"Hey Hiro! Don't get the wrong idea, Tohru isn't your maid!" Kyo said, appearing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Don't just march into other people's houses and nag about nothing! Why do you come here every time you want to play?!"

"Hah" Hiro shook me off, "What's this? Since when did this become the "Cat's House"? You have complaints, but have you made any contributions? Are you paying the bills or something?" Hiro looked away dismissively, "Shame, shame! I especially despise people who complain irresponsibly! If it's just complaining, even a snotty kid can do it!"

Oh you little hypocrite! I covered my eyes with my hands, trying to stop the twitching in the right one. He was seriously starting to kill me.

Kyo lunged, _**"That goes for you too!"**_

Shigure appeared behind Kyo, grasping the angry cat's head in his hands. "Stop! Stop Kyo! Hiro's just going through a rebellious phase right now!"

"HUH?!"

That certainly is some rebellious phase . . .

"I don't care if he is in a rebellious phase or whatever! If he wants to play together, he should do it at home!" Kyo snapped, "Let go of me!"

"It's not that simple" Shigure shook his head wisely, "If one of the Zodiac wants to get close to someone, whether it's "outside" or "inside" the Sohma house . . . they must have a very firm resolution. . . right?"

I'm pretty sure he meant that it's not easy for the Zodiac to get together, and if they finally find someone they like then they must keep at it and stay true . . . but that's just my interpretation.

"Ah! Just let it go, if you keep getting upset it just proves that you're still in you rebellious phase also"

"HUH?!" Kyo cried indignantly.

"See?" Shigure raised a finger, "you're already upset. You must always try your best to be an admirable adult like me!"

"Okay" I dragged my hand down my face, "Now I know you're full of bull-"

"_**Adult?" **_Mitsuru, Shigure's editor, appeared at his back. She looked more strung out than ever, with tears running down her face. _**"Someone who doesn't even keep his deadlines is an admirable adult?"**_

"Oh my?" Shigure looked over his shoulder, totally unrepentant.

Yuki followed Mitsuru into the room, exasperation written on his face. "She was standing at the front gate looking like she wanted to hang herself . . ."

"Shigure!" I cried over Tohru's sound of shock.

"_**WHY?! WHY DIDN"T YOU KEEP IT . . . ?" **_Mitsuru bawled, grasping the front of Shigure's kimono.

"Ah . . ." Shigure said sheepishly, "I wonder why . . ."

"_**SENSEI YOU IDIOT!" **_Mitsuru wailed as he gently pushed her ahead of him.

"Yes yes, I know. I'll write it just as I promised" Shigure tried to console her as they left the room.

I sighed, "That poor woman. I hope her boss knows just what she goes through for that idiot."

Really though, I don't think they know just what she goes through being his editor. I'm not quite sure how she's refrained from killing him yet. We could still hear the woman wailing as they went up the stairs, totally inconsolable.

"It's so noisy, why can' it be more quiet?" Hiro complained, then ordered Tohru to get him another cup of tea.

Kyo growled, "I told you don't . . ."

"I'll bring you some tea right away."

"You too! Stop listening to everything he says!"

I rolled my eyes and followed Tohru into the kitchen, patting Yuki on the shoulder as I walked by. Kid looked like he was getting a migraine. I don't know about Hiro, but I'd made some damn good pie, and if he wasn't going enjoy I would.

So, while Tohru was preparing tea, I cut myself a slice and pouted while I ate. It wasn't too sweet. I'd made sure of that!

Kyo leaned against the counter next to me, a slightly frustrated scowl on his handsome face. "You shouldn't let his complaining get to you, he's just a brat."

"I know" I poked a cherry with my fork, "But-"

Kyo snatched the plate from me and took a bite, shocking me. I watched him eat, gawking for a second, before snapping out of it and hurrying to get him a glass of milk.

We traded dishes, and after he took a drink Kyo patted my head. "It's good."

I turned away from him so he wouldn't see my blush, and the stupid grin that was perma-fried onto my face. What a sweetie. He'd taken a bite of my dish, just to assure me that Hiro was wrong. See? This type of stuff is what makes it hard not to like him. Or to refrain from hugging the shit out of him.

"Thanks Kyo" I smiled at him over my shoulder, "That was really nice of you!"

He blushed, embarrassed. "Bah!"

I followed Tohru out of the kitchen, still smiling like an idiot.

"You're tea is ready!" Tohru padded over to Hiro, "Sorry to make you wait . . ."

We both blinked in surprise when he whipped his head around and pierced us with a glare. I was waiting for him to make some scathing remark when he suddenly stood up, clenching his fists.

"I'm going to the washroom."

I plopped down next to Kisa, staring after him, "Wow, what's up with him?"

Tohru sat on my other side, looking worried. "Yes . . . I was wondering that too."

"Sorry" Kisa apologized, looking between us. "Hiro is actually . . . very kind"

"Ha ha" Tohru chuckled, "You two are so close to each other"

I placed my elbow on the table and rested my cheek in my hand, "I think you're the only person he really likes"

"I . . . I thought Hiro _didn't _like me" Kisa confided, "When I was in elementary school, we used to play together. Then he started to ignore me . . . when he talked to me, he was so cold. I don't know why, so I was afraid." She smiled softly at us, "I'm very happy . . ."

"Is that so" Tohru mused, still grasping the teapot.

I hummed, thinking. Perhaps that was the time he realized he _liked _her. Boys were known to pick on the girls they liked while still young. Though, Hiro was just a kid, and he had to deal with the curse too. All those emotions bottled up into such a young body couldn't be healthy. I was starting to wonder if any of the Zodiac had a good child hood…

Hmm . . . maybe he needed some tough, big sisterly love.

_**~LINE BREAK~**_

Tohru and I got a surprise a couple of days later. Hiro and Kisa were waiting for us outside school, leaning against the front gate. I beamed, jogging forward to scoop Kisa up into a hug.

"Hey sweetie!" I planted a kiss on her head, then turned and ruffled Hiro's hair. "What's up midget?"

He scowled and batted my hand away, "Today, you guys don't have to work do you? Take us somewhere to play!"

"Welcome!" Tohru was happily surprised, "Did you two come looking for us?"

"That's right!" Hiro planted his hands on his hips, "We came here after school and we're tired of waiting for you! Don't make us stand here any longer, hurry up and take us somewhere!"

I rolled my eyes and adjusted the strap to my book bag, "Sorry kiddo, I gotta work tonight. So you get Tohru all to yourselves!"

Thank god.

"Ha!" Tohru paused, "Ah, but . . . just where . . ."

What came next had me refraining from dispensing of some _tough _sisterly love . . .

"_**What? You can't even decide on that? No interests, no opinions? Did you think you could just follow other people your whole life? HA! That's a wonderfully comfortable way to live your life!"**_

"I'm so sorry . . ."

"Hiro . . ." I growled, hand's twitching with the urge to pop him on the head.

"Why does that kid . . . think so highly of himself?" One of the upperclassmen behind us muttered.

They continued to mutter on, until I was tempted to turn around and tell them to mind their own business, thank you very much! While Hiro was an annoying little twerp, he was now our annoying little twerp! We could handle him without their input.

"Yes . . ." Hiro suddenly looked thoughtfully remorseful, "I really do . . . think highly of myself. People like me should get a taste of the ups and downs of life. Sorry, I'm so envious. I will reflect upon this, please don't be angry."

The upperclassmen looked at him, pleasantly surprised. That is, until Hiro turned a sly smirk on them. "There, I said it. Are you satisfied?"

I slapped my hand over my mouth to cover the laughter, taking Kisa's hand to drag her along. Tohru looked stricken by what happened, so I helped her along.

"Bye-Bye!" Hiro waved cheerily as we left.

Once we were out of range, I let myself laugh. "Gah that was priceless kid! The look on their faces!"

"Auntie" Kisa looked up at me, "Don't you have to go to work?"

I looked at my watch, and yelped. "Yikes! Okay, yep, I gotta go!"

Kisa got a hug, as did Tohru, and Hiro got a peck on the top of his head before I bolted. If I was late to work, my co-workers would not be understanding.

Ugh.

* * *

><p><strong>Right, so, I'm sorry this couldn't be a longer chapter! I just couldn't figure out where to cut it without it being awkward, so this is what you get! I love you so much! <strong>

**SandNinjaBunny: Thank you! And I'm sorry about the shortness!**

**cheshirekadi: Oh god, I just about died when it showed up on my email in my phone. Got some weird looks, but that's okay! Thank you for reviewing on my story!**

**LadyAmazon: Right? Definitely. **


	34. Swimsuits and Hoodlums!

**Here you go my lovelies! **

* * *

><p>Y'know what one of the best things to do during the summer is? Swimming. Uo, Hana, Tohru, and I are frequently going to the school pool to cool off during the holidays. Something we were currently doing right now. Well, Uo and Hana were with me. Tohru had run off to find another hair tie for Hana since hers got lost.<p>

Floating idly, I adjusted the strap to my bikini top. The suit was purple, with black lines running diagonally across it. It was something I'd let Uo talk me into buying, and I gotta say, I did get a nice tan while wearing the thing.

"Summer . . ." Uo sighed, "The best thing to do is to go swimming, and the school pool isn't bad."

I hummed in agreement, "Right? It's so relaxing . . ."

There was a sudden flurry of splashing and I caught one right in the face. Spluttering, I dipped under before coming up, looking for the idiots who'd done it. Two of the Yuki fan club girls were swimming away frantically, and just as Hana appeared, I understood why. Without her hair tie, she did look slightly like a water spider.

"Have you found your hair band?" Uo asked, patting me on the shoulder.

"No luck . . ." Hana sighed, pushing her hair away from her face. "It must have been carried away by the water. So troublesome, now I won't be able to enjoy this rare opportunity to swim."

"Poor Hana" I curled an arm around her shoulder, "I wish I'd thought to bring an extra"

Finally, my hair was long enough to put into a rather spiky looking pony. I couldn't wait until my hair was long enough to actually do things with. Right now it was just in that awkward phase of 'not quite long, but still short enough to be crappy' and it sucked.

Uo just laughed, "You really like swimming too, huh?"

"Hana!"

Tohru's voice called our attention, and when I saw her, I sighed. The girl was _still _wearing her school swimsuit. This was going to set Uo off like no other, I just knew it.

"I have one right here!" Tohru held up a hair tie as she stopped before us, "Back-up hair band."

"Ah, did you get it just for me? Thank you so much Tohru!"

"No problem!"

Then, the most ungodly wail erupted from Uo. She crossed her arms and planted her face into them, crying like her heart had just been ripped out. See? What did I tell you about Tohru's swimsuit setting her off?

"Uo!" Tohru cried, kneeling down. "Uo, what's wrong?"

By the time we had to go back into the dressing rooms, Uo was almost over her fit. I swear . . . that girl should be in drama.

"You should be used to this Arisa" Hana chided, "Seeing the same thing every year . . ."

"You got that right" I said, letting my hair out.

Hana moved over to Tohru and placed her hands on her shoulders, "Doesn't she look adorable wearing it?"

"I don't think that's the point hun" I began towel drying my hair, "Is it Uo?"

"No" Uo sighed, "It's just that I'm still . . . Its not that I don't think she's cute or I have anything against it . . . I'm still a bit . . ." Suddenly Uo went off, "_**It's Like I'm Seeing An Old Lady In A Convenience Store Buying Fast Food! Not That Some Every Day Old Lady Would Conjure Up Any Special Feelings. Bu When I See Her Like That I Feel Despair And Am Extremely Uncomfortable. I Wouldn't Just Cry For No Reason, I Don't Like To Cry. That's Right, Once I Was Collecting Money And Crying At The Same Time."**_

"Uo!?" Tohru said, slightly distressed.

"Actually, Arisa cries really easily" Hana murmured over Uo's wailing.

"Remember that time a we were watching a movie and the bad guy started to talk about how he became a bad guy" I tapped my chin, "She cried then too"

"That's right!" Uo did a 360 and grinned, pointing at us. "I have a good suggestion . . ."

That's how we came to be standing in our house, with the boys sitting at the table, and Tohru upstairs to get changed out of her uniform. I'd changed out of mine before we left for school, and was now wearing a pair of shorts, a black tank, and a hair band to keep it out of my face.

"We're going to buy a new swimsuit for Tohru" Uo announced, crossing her arms. "I've decided to make this "everyone's gift to her". So I'd like you guys to help!"

"Huh?" Kyo stared at her, annoyance written on his face. "You can't just make decisions all by yourself . . ."

"Hasn't Tohru and Mandy been doing all your housework for you? The only reason Mandy isn't getting one is because the one I picked out for her is still looking good. So, you guys should express your gratitude toward Tohru!"

And I thank god for that, because knowing her, she'd try to pick out something totally sexy, and I was not up to that. My suit was borderline anyway, with my figure.

"Swimsuit" Shigure clenched his fist, looking enlightened. "Yes . . . that sounds very appealing . . ."

"Just like the writer!" Uo pointed at him.

Kyo's hackles went up, "**HE"S WEIRD, IGNORE HIM!"**

"I don't object to giving her a present, but why does it have to be a swimsuit?" Yuki inquired, tilting his head.

"Well . . ." I scratched my head, "That's because . . ."

"Tohru is still wearing her swimsuit from Junior High" Hana finished for me.

"Pfffft!" Shigure spat out the tea he'd just been about to drink.

"WHAT'S WRONG, SHIGURE!"

"Eww" I wrinkled my nose, grossed out.

"Disgusting . . ."

"Sorry . . ." Tohru came hurrying into the room, "sorry for making you wait so long . . ."

I 'meep'ed' when Shigure bolted at Tohru and grabbed her by the shoulders, "**Tohru! **Go ahead and buy it! Buy a really good one! Do you understand?!"

"He really cares about Tohru" Uo observed idly.

Yeah . . . he was so not coming with us. . .

Anywhodles . . . we managed to get the boys to come with us, without much complaining, and went shopping for a new swimsuit to give Tohru.

"Hmm . . ." Uo eyed the racks of suits, her arms crossed behind her head. "Although it's just as simple as purchasing a swimsuit . . . there are just too many of them!"

"Maybe a one-piece would be more suitable?" Hana pondered.

"Yeah . . ." I rubbed the back of my head, "I just can't see her in a bikini"

I really couldn't, Ru was still just too innocent and naïve. It just wouldn't look right.

"Hey!" Uo turned and called out to the boys, who were sulking in a corner. "Do you guys prefer bikinis or one-piece swimsuits?"

"DON"T ASK US!"

I snickered at the pained expressions on their faces. Especially Kyo's, he just looked so awkward standing there.

"Hey!" Uo planted her hands on her hips and walked over to them, "Come help us choose . . ."

"You know . . ." Kyo almost looked like he was in pain, "You shouldn't get guys to accompany you girls to places like this. . ."

"Then stop following us around"

I rolled my eyes at her reply. Honestly, could she send them any more mixed signals?

"_**YOU GUYS ARE THE ONES WHO DRAGGED US HERE!**_"

"So what?" Uo flapped a hand at him, "What's with your attitude? If you're pure of heart, then you shouldn't have anything to be afraid of! Ah~ You're thinking dirty thoughts!" Uo waved her hand around, "I mean, I wasn't asking what kind of underwear you guys like!"

I choked, blushing about as much as Yuki was. "Gah! Arisa Uotani!"

My voice rose to a squeak, cracking at her name.

Kyo rounded on her, blushing as well. "Can you not say stuff like that?! Have you no dignity!?"

"I know, let's decide on a color! You guys should at least know what color suits Tohru, right?"

Oh thank god. A safe topic at last!

"Orange?"/"Blue?"

Or not . . . they rounded on each other, looks of identical disdain on their faces.

"Blue? How could you think a cold and callous color like blue could suit her?" Kyo snapped.

I pouted, touching the corner of my eyes. They were blue! While I understood Kyo was probably just being difficult because Yuki had said it, doesn't mean it didn't affect me.

"And I suppose yours does! Why would orange be a suitable color?" Yuki asked coolly. "How could such a plain color match her, idiot!"

I mean, neither color really worked, but at least Yuki wasn't dissing on my eye color . . .

"Don't call me an idiot! A bright and flashy color is most suitable for her!"

"I dare say it's excessively bright for Miss Honda, you obviously don't have any taste so don't say any more!"

"Then neither do you!"

"At least it's better than being an idiot . . ."

"Tohru would look better in orange!" Kyo growled.

"Blue!" Yuki shot back.

"Pink . . ." Hana jumped in, "The color best for Tohru . . . _is pink!_"

I threw my hands up in the air, "Yes! Great, let's go with pink!"

While she was most likely correct, I just wanted to get out of here now. Shopping was so not what I did for fun . . .

"You guys should start again from the beginning." Hana told them.

"Ah" I almost whimpered, "How about not, eh?"

Uo had tilted her head back thoughtfully, "That's right, pink really does suit Tohru, though white is also a good color . . ."

"_**IF YOU HAD ALREADY DECIDED, THEN WHY BOTHER ASKING?!" **_

Yes, why bother asking? I pursed my lips, "Yes, pink is good. Not too loud, and not too soft. I like it."

I really did. She would look very adorable in the color. I reached out and patted Kyo on the shoulder. He was starting to look a bit worn out, like when it rains.

"Whatever it is, it's best to get a general opinion." Hana said firmly, "Pink would look best on Tohru."

"I got the idea from Kyoko!" Uo admitted, smiling. "She's known as the "Red Butterfly" so that's one color. Her knowledge of her father is as blank as a white piece of paper. Therefore, red plus white equals a pink Tohru!"

I grinned, liking the logic. "Perfectly done Uo!"

She swung an arm around my shoulder, "A pink swimsuit. Mm-hmm, she'll look real cute!"

"You three really care about Miss Honda!" Yuki smiled softly at us.

"I've told you before, Tohru once saved our lives!" Uo rested her cheek on my head, smiling at Yuki. "The reason I'm alive and smiling in this hate filled world is all because I have Tohru by my side!"

I closed my eyes, smiling. "Yes. And I have all three of you to thank!"

The girls and I picked one out and bought it while Tohru was still looking through the racks. The look on her face when we handed the bag to her was just priceless.

"Ah . . . a gift." She looked at each of us, "For me?! B-b-bu-but!"

"it's just an expression of our gratitude" Hana told her, smiling.

"This . . . I can't possibly accept this!"

Kyo sighed, "Don't waste your breath, just accept it . . ."

"That's right, it's merely an expression of our gratitude" Yuki leaned down to look her in the eyes, "So please keep it Miss Honda!"

Tohru hugged it to her chest, tears of gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you all, I promise I'll take good care of it!"

Uo, Hana, and I converged on her in a hug. Silently thanking her for taking us into her lives when she did. Well, I was thanking all three of them, because if they hadn't bothered me in the first place, I probably would be in some gang right now.

"Tohru." We said, hugging her between us.

_**~LINE BREAK~**_

"So, what kind of swimsuit did you guys buy?" Yuki asked the three of us.

We moved from shopping to lunch, which was something I could get into.

I reclined in my seat between Yuki and Kyo, keeping my elbows to myself. Tohru was planted firmly between Hana and Uo, and since there was nowhere else, I sat between the two cousins to keep them from physically beating on each other if they suddenly got the urge.

Plus, I don't think squishing them in together would be a good idea. Like, at all.

"You just wait and see" Uo told him, smiling in satisfaction. "Since we are going to the beach, aren't we?"

"Mm" Yuki nodded, "I want to go too"

"The three of us will go find some nice places to play!" Uo stated.

"That sounds great" Tohru murmured.

Hana smiled, "I'm so happy . . ."

I nodded, propping my elbows on the table so I could cup my face. "I'm really excited, the beach is an amazing place. That is, if you remember to keep reapplying the sun screen"

It was not nice, being sunburned. I winced at the memory of falling asleep on the sand after playing in the ocean. The shade of my skin resembled that of a freshly cooked lobster . . .

Yuki looked like he was trying not to think too hard about it, "You guys really get along well together. Did you go to the same primary school?"

"Nope, we only knew each other in Junior High." Uo answer, "We only got to know Hanajima in the second year when she moved to our school, and Mandy not long after that."

"Mm-hmm" Hana agreed, looking peaceful. "I had a few problems in my old school."

I giggled at the looks Kyo and Yuki got on their faces, sort of a dread with morbid curiosity. Those were definitely some memorable years. Thanks to them I'd become a different person. . .

"Uo was still hanging with the gang at the time!" Tohru added, smiling.

"Mm-hmm" I nodded, "Though, you quit not long after I came along."

Kyo finally looked at her, looking rather traumatized. "You . . . were once a gang member?"

"Yep, I was a bad girl!" Uo replied, acting as though it were normal. "Though, I was always wearing a mask back then, and I had long eye-lashes and wore long skirts. . ."

"You act as if you don't do that anymore" I drawled, smirking at her.

". . . actually, you're still the same Arisa" Hana pointed out.

"That's true!" Tohru nodded, giggling.

Uo threw her head back and laughed boisterously. I managed to catch the slightly bewildered looks the boys were throwing at us, and snickered. Poor kids. They'd obviously had no idea what they were getting into when they took us in.

"Mm . . ." Uo hummed, "I guess, back then I wasn't very happy! How should I put this? I was like a starving lion, you could say. The problem child whom all the parents and teachers had given up on. It really is very easy to be bad!"

I settled in for Uo's story, half smiling at the way she had captivated the boys' attention.

_**~Uo's Flashback~**_

_**When I had come around to my senses, I had already joined a gang. Surrounded by my fellow gang members, doing bad things. Beating people or getting beaten up, burning stuff, getting chased and caught by the cops. If I were to tell you the details of every single evil thing I did, I have a feeling your ears would explode.**_

_**In conclusion, all I used to be was a heartless nuisance to society and human trash. So I was the scum of the human race, but I still had someone I respected and looked up to, and that was Kyoko . . .**_

_**She treated gender differences with disdain, became the leader of a special attack squad, and was given the nickname "Red Butterfly". She was a brave and fierce fighter, and had the air of a man. However, she despised clans. After I heard about her from my superiors, I began to admire and respect her.**_

_**That's when I learned that The Red Butterfly's daughter could be going to the same school as me. I would assume that Kyoko's daughter would be a rather outstanding person, I couldn't possible have missed her! I didn't really attend school all that much, so it was too surprising.**_

_**Then, at school, this girl bumps into my back, carrying a stack of books that was taller than her head! Of course, I turn around to tell her off, and what does she do? She bows and apologizes, spilling the things everywhere! I was so frustrated, and annoyed that I felt obligated to help her pick them up. When she told me her name, I was in denial. This little girl couldn't have been the daughter of the Red Butterfly! But, she was, and she took me to her home to prove it.**_

_**What I saw there stunned me. In that moment, my image of Kyoko changed completely.**_

_**~Uo's Flashback Break~**_

At some point the waiter had come and given us our lunch. I was eating my bento and enjoying Uo's story.

"However, in its place I began to develop new feelings of love and respect!" Uo explained over her ramen, "But that's all in the past. Would you guys like to hear the rest of my story?"

I answered for them, "Yes"

Uo grinned at me before continuing on. "Back then I was really disappointed. Even though it was purely my one-sided feelings, I held in my heart a heroin like role model. When I saw her in person, I thought "I can't believe she's actually like this". It was really like that." Uo put down her chopsticks, "Even though the image was completely different from the one in my head, my own thought were that . . . Kyoko, with a smile on her face, smiled and forgave me."

_**~Uo's Flashback Break-end~**_

_**When she invited me into her house, I couldn't believe what I saw. The Legendary Red Butterfly was doing laundry! That's actually when I first got called "Uo". I didn't like it at first, but as you can see, it stuck. I was so angry, I'm ashamed to say that I blew up on her, and Tohru. **_

_**Why am I worried? It feels like I'm being chased by something, and it seems as if it's catching up to me. Like it can't wait. Why is it like this? Is it because I'm in an uncomfortable atmosphere? It feels like, that atmosphere makes me extremely uncomfortable.**_

_**It felt like the only place I am comfortable is when I'm with my gang. But, as I sat there, and listened to them, I couldn't help but think.**_

_**Since they don't love the child, why bear it? Mom eloped with a man when I was in first grade. Since then it's been my dad and I, trying to live on. Dad always drank. Eventually I got used to it, even though I didn't like it, I got used to it. **_

_**But, that day, when some girls decided to pick a fight with me, Tohru willingly hid me in her house. . .**_

_**~Uo's Flashback End!~**_

Uo smirked, "Thinking back, I was such a stubborn youth . . ." then she turned and hugged Tohru, "Anyway, I love Tohru!"

Hana joined her, "Love you . . ."

I threw my hands up in the air, "And I love all three of you!"

They laughed, and Kyo batted at my hand. I'd almost smacked him on the face. Oops . . .

Yuki smiled softly, "Ah . . . but now we have a deeper understanding of Miss Honda's mother"

"Uotani"

I looked over, and standing there, were three girls. They were obviously younger than us, but they also looked to be their own little gang. Huh, isn't that coincidental . . .

"We want to borrow you for a bit" Their leader said, arms crossed. "Of course it's just gotta be you . . ."

"It's time to go to work!" Uo stood up, smiling cheerfully.

Hana nodded, "Everyone's full"

"Are you mocking us?!"

We heard them clamoring behind us as we left. Something about developing some pictures?

"Wait, Uotani!" The leader barked, "I've been waiting to meet you for a long time Arisa Uotani! Stop pretending you don't know who I am!"

I crossed my arms behind my head, "Who _are _they?"

"Hey . . ." Kyo muttered, "You really know them, right? They called you by name!"

"I've never seen them before" Uo replied casually, then said a little louder. "You old fashioned little freak!"

"What does that make you?!"

Christ, we were gonna have to pay them some attention, weren't we? If we didn't do something they were going to annoy us the whole time walking home. I turned around and started walking backwards, just to keep an eye on the little delinquents.

"Treating us like idiots, although at the moment I admit we are nothing more than a bunch of delinquent girls . . ." The leader stomped her foot and struck a pose, her little lackeys doing the same. "But one day we will own this place! We will become just like you and make a name for ourselves! _**We will create the most powerful gang you have ever seen!**_"

Gotta admit, their synchronization was good. They'd practiced that stance a few times.

"Good luck then" Uo said, examining her nails.

"**HOW DARE YOU LOOK DOWN ON US!" **She hollered, "We have mastered all your moves! Just try and attack us!"

"Ah . . ." Uo sighed, "So annoying"

"What's going on?" Yuki asked, "Gang warfare?"

"No" I shook my head, eyeing the girls. "Look at them, they can't be more than thirteen or fourteen. They're probably just looking for some attention."

"I would gladly oblige them . . ." Hana murmured, a gleam in her eyes.

"No you won't" Kyo and I chorused, faces flat.

I glanced at Uo, but she wasn't paying any attention to what was going on. In fact, she seemed to be in her own little world. If Hana really wanted to do something, then it wasn't like we could stop her. Almost as if she could read our minds, which I wouldn't put past her, Hana took a few steps up and stared the girls down.

"Uh-oh" I reached out and tapped on Tohru's arm, "Ru, snap Uo out of it. Hana's getting irritated."

Tohru's eyes went a little wide, before she went up to Uo. "Uo . . . Uo!"

"Huh?" Uo blinked at Tohru, "What's up? What's happening?"

"Wh-what's with the freaky feeling in the air?"

I pointed at them, "Hana's getting weird with the waves . . ."

"Hanajima" Uo deadpanned, "They're just little brats, so you don't need to deal with them so seriously!"

"**I was just planning on toying with them . . ."**

"Hana" I wrapped an arm through hers, "I love you, but no"

I remembered the last time Hana "just toyed" with someone. They ended up transferring schools. . .

"Will you three stop joking around?!" Girl #1 shouted, "First, you were in some trance of yours, then you look down on us!"

"I wasn't in some trance!"

"So frustrating!" She cocked her fist, running at Uo. "Now I really want to beat the crap out of you!"

What happened next was very anticlimactic. Uo planted her palm on Girl #1's forehead, stopping her fist about two feet from her. I leaned my head against Hana's watching the interaction.

"**WHY CAN'T I HIT HER!?"**

"Maybe you're too far away! Try an uppercut." Kyo said, obviously bored. Yuki just looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Kyo" I chided, "Don't instruct the hoodlums"

"Being underestimated by people, is the way to go little girl" Uo told the growling kid, "If you just want attention, then there are lots of other ways to get it. So I suggest you give up this little game of yours, while you can still change." Uo's face and voice softened, "If you just want to get scolded, then I can do it for you anytime."

Uo turned away, "Okay, let's go!"

"Finally" I tugged Hana along, waving idly at the girls. "See ya, be good, and try not to get into any more fights!"

"Big sister . . ." I heard Girl #1 murmur.

"BIG SISTER?!"

I laughed, glancing at Kyo. "So, what was with you giving her advice on how to hit?"

"I hate bad stances!"

When we got home I hugged the girl's goodbye, lingering on Uo a little longer, because she just seemed like she needed it.

"That's all for today, see you guys tomorrow"

"Okay!" Tohru chirped, "Thanks to both of you, Uo and Hana!"

They smiled at Tohru tenderly, waving as they left. I chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Come on girl, let's go inside"

Today had been a good day, and I was glad we had decided to get a present for Tohru. The girl deserved it after all she's done for us.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I decided to go for a long chapter this time. if you guys can't tell, I am now solely going off the manga, and I've had to reconfigure the sentences a bit, because the translations can be a little bit wonky. <strong>

**This is one of my favorite parts of the series, because Arisa's story is so heartwarming, and I really hope I did it justice!**

**Oh, and I have found a song that I absolutely love, it's called "All About That Bass" and it's amazing.**

**But anyway, here are my replies to my reviewers!**

**LadyAmazon: He's just so huggable isn't he? I wanted to add a little moment there, because Mandy really loves to bake, and having Hiro be a brat about would obviously make her feel bad. :) Thank you for reviewing on my story!**

**vanessaainsley: D'awww, *Blushes* why thank you! It's reviews that make me so happy! I'm glad you like it so much! I'm not sure if that is allowed or not, but it would be cool if it were!**


	35. An Enraged Cow and a Panicky Monkey!

**Here you go my lovelies!  
>Enjoy!<strong>

* * *

><p>"Tohru, Mandy . . . Yuki, Kyo!" Momiji came running into our class, "It's bad, it's bad! Big problem . . .!"<p>

"There's a big problem here too!" Uo informed him, looking slightly annoyed.

We had been arguing over where we are going for our class trip, er. . Sorry. We'd been _discussing _the issue . . . Though there wasn't much to talk about, it was going to be fun for me and Tohru. I think the others were just being difficult on purpose. Except for Kyo. His main problem was the fact that Yuki was in our group.

You see our problem now?

"Right now we are discussing about where we are going for our class trip" Tohru informed him cheerily.

"Eh!?" Momiji bounced over to her, "Have you decided where you're going? Where?!"

"Kyoto, Nara" I told him, doodling in a notebook.

"The standard places" Hana said, flipping through a guide book.

"Yes, indeed" Uo sighed.

"Oh, it's not gonna be that bad" I tapped my pencil on my chin, "It could actually be pretty fun!"

"You all are so lucky . . ." Momiji pouted at being left out, "I want to go too . . ."

I frowned at Tohru, "Is that allowed?"

"If you're willing to pay for yourself, I'm sure it won't be a problem" Tohru said thoughtfully.

Hmm, I guess it would be kind of fun to have Momiji there. Though, I'm not sure how Yuki and Kyo would take it. Both of them could only take so much of the kid before he started grating on their nerves. Kyo more so than Yuki, but still . . . it was bound to happen.

Momiji bounced over to me and tossed a fist in the air, "I've decided to pay for myself!"

"DON'T GO!" Kyo barked, finally turning away from the window.

See? Barely five minutes in the room and the rabbit was already rubbing Kyo the wrong way.

I reached out and gripped the younger kid's hand, squeezing lightly. "Pay no attention to Kyo, Miji, he's just upset."

His look of excitement went straight to curiosity, "Why are you so angry, Kyo?"

Uo answered this one, "He doesn't like the members of the group."

"Yuki's going too, right?" Momiji asked knowingly.

That just set Kyo off, he turned furiously. "I'm definitely not going! I don't like doing every single thing with that bothersome Yuki!"

I snickered, earning a slight glare from the irate teen. Little did he know, class trips are mandatory. Poor Kyo had no choice in the matter.

"Basically, school trips are compulsory" Uo answered his unspoken question, a sly grin on her face. "But if you go it'll be more fun! Because I can bug you."

". . . Am I a toy?" Kyo drooped.

I would have found it funny if Momiji hadn't attacked him with a folder, rubbing it against his hair and creating static. Not just the shocking kind either. Kyo looked just about ready to bust a plug on the kid. I stopped paying attention to Momiji's railing and began to doodle on my paper again. This was starting to become ridiculous, and I had a large tolerance for ridiculousness . . .

"_**SO THIS IS HOW YOU GUYS TOY WITH ME?!"**_

"It's love, love!" Uo chimed, smirking.

Uh . . . what the hell did I miss?

"Stop!" Kyo ordered, blushing profusely.

Yep. I missed something. I glanced up at the door, and jumped. At some point Yuki had come into the room, and he had a strange look on his face. I stopped my doodling, tucked my pencil behind my ear and waved casually.

"Hey Yuki!" I brought everyone's attention to him. "Congratulations are in order I hear?"

Our Prince Yuki had made class President. Not that I was really all that surprised. All of the girls in the school had probably voted for him, and Takai had his crazy man crush thing going on as well . . .

It had been inevitable, in the long run.

"Good job Yuki!" Tohru praised, beaming.

Momiji nodded solemnly, "Good job . . ."

"Momiji" Yuki looked at the shorter kid, "Is your tutorial over?"

"Eh?!"

I stood up and joined Tohru, "Yeah, didn't you say there was a problem?"

"Oh!" Momiji exclaimed, "Yeah, there was a problem because Haru turned black and got violent in the classroom!"

He said it so cheerfully! I'm not sure, but isn't that something you say immediately?! I looked at Yuki for guidance. Haru was most likely to react better to him . . . right?

"You should've said that earlier . . ." Kyo scowled.

After that there was no more time to waist, we rushed out of the class, trying to make it before anybody got seriously injured. When we got there, a crowd of students and faculty were hovering outside. I ignored the girls fawning over Yuki and stuck close to Kyo, keeping Tohru right behind me.

"It looks like he hasn't transformed yet" Kyo observed, "**Hey Haru!**"

The room was torn apart and glass was everywhere. What the hell had set him off?! Haru looked back at us when Kyo called out, an animalistic snarl on his face.

"_**AH!"**_

Tohru started in fright behind me, clutching the back of my uniform. I frowned, what the hell was his problem? Didn't Haru realize how much trouble he could get in for this? Not only that, if he got too out of control, there was the possibility of him transforming in the middle of school! Hatori would not be happy . . .

"The terribleness of violence" Momiji sighed, seemingly unfazed.

I shared a look of frustrated annoyance with Kyo, and rubbed hand over my face. Kyo shoveled his hand through his hair, obviously not looking forward to dealing with Black Haru.

"Haru . . ." Yuki sighed, "What are you doing?"

"**I'm creating trouble! Can't you see!?"** Haru brought up a hand to gesture at himself, **"If you want to stop me, you better make sure you're ready to die!"**

"Hatsuharu . . ." Tohru murmured, worried.

Momiji tapped his chin, "What should we do?"

That was a good question. I gingerly followed Yuki into the room, trying to survey the damage, and just how long it was going to take to clean it up. Desks were tossed everywhere, some obviously broken, others not. Papers were strewn across the room, making it obvious they'd been in the middle working when Haru had snapped.

"It's been a while since he's turned black" Yuki sighed, "This time it seems to be worse . . ."

"Stop messing around Haru!" Kyo ordered, calmer than I would have thought. "You are going to get us all in trouble if you mess this place up!"

"I don't think it's possible for this to be worse" I muttered quietly, making sure Haru couldn't hear me.

"Shut up stupid cat! Your presence just makes it worse!" Haru snapped at him, "Stupid cat!"

"Ah" Kyo tilted his head, trying not to react. "Lil' brat . . . if you have the guts to say that one more time . . ."

"Kyo" Yuki sighed, "You shouldn't be influenced by him, stupid cat!"

I thumped my hand to my forehead, groaning. "How is that supposed to help, Yuki?"

Was he seriously trying to set them both off?

"**DON'T SOUND SO SMART! THINK OF SOMETHING!**"

"Haru . . . even though I don't know what your reasons are, you shouldn't cause trouble in school!" Yuki gently scolded him.

Haru ruffled his hair with both hands, still obviously upset. "Ah . . . You are always worrying about others Yuki . . . if we accidentally get turned into our original form, it will be a problem huh? We'll all be in trouble huh . . ."

"No, that's not what I'm saying" Yuki tried to say, "It's more like . . ."

"**Stupid . . ." **Haru growled, **"Stupid, stupid, I'm stupid! You're scared, that's why you say these things, why don't you just say the truth and forget about it."**

"Hatsu-"Tohru started.

"**Right!"**

I, thankfully, was just an inch ahead of Haru's lunge. I managed to cut of his rout to Tohru, and ended up being the one he grabbed. I winced slightly at the force of his grip, but held my ground, gripping his wrist with my other hand.

"**You think so too! Right?!" **Haru asked frantically, scowling.

"Haru!"

I was unable to say anything else, due to the fact that Kyo gripped my shoulder and punched Haru hard in the face. He gently maneuvered me back, slipping between me and an enraged Haru. I gawked, lightly rubbing where Haru had grabbed.

"I don't know what you're so mad about. But I will definitely not allow you to involve Mandy in it . . ." Kyo said darkly, nudging me away.

Okay. Now I was scared. Kyo looked just about ready to kill, and Haru would only encourage this . . . how were we going to fix this?!Suddenly, a memory made itself to the front of my mind. It was when Kyo and Yuki had started fighting while I was dyeing my hair. I'd dumped a giant bowl of cold water on them . . .

"Don't try to be a hero, stupid cat . . ." Haru wiped at his face,

"I'm not kidding, idiot!"

Shit. Shit. Shit. I turned, ready to head for the nearest utility closet and find a bucket. This was going to end just as well and the Titanic did if someone didn't do something!

"**Oh yeah! You like to act heroic in front of this woman!"** Haru sneered, **"In that case, come break my neck if you can! Ah!?"**

"Bring it on brat!" Kyo challenged, "I am going to break all your bones!"

Just as I was passing Yuki and Momiji, I nearly bowled Mayuko sensei over. To my great relief, she was carrying a bucket of water. I stepped aside and gestured at the boys.

"Do the honors Sensei"

"Why thank you Mandy" She smiled at me, and then promptly dumped the bucket over Kyo and Haru's heads, "That's far enough you idiots"

"Teacher" Yuki seemed surprised.

"This way you two will cool down, huh?" Mayuko sensei stated.

"You fake teacher" Kyo groused, dripping wet. "Why'd yah do that to me too . . .?"

"Because you were going to kill each other" I deadpanned, hands on my hips.

"Ah . . ." Haru sighed peacefully, "That was refreshing . . ."

I drooped, letting my forehead thunk against Yuki's shoulder. "I . . . I don't . . . can't . . ."

Yuki hesitantly patted the top of my head, sighing in agreement. How did they deal with this kid in middle school? If he was bad now, what must he have been like as a little kid with no restraint or control? We followed Sensei and Haru to the teachers' lounge, and waited for them to finish outside the room.

I was leaning against the wall, arms crossed behind my neck, when Tohru spoke. "Hatsuharu . . . will he be alright?"

"He's going to get lectured for sure, eh" Kyo stated, stretching out his arm.

"What I don't understand" I said, "Is what the _hell _could have pissed Haru off so bad that he snapped in the middle of a class. Was anyone messing with you or him, Miji?"

"Momiji?" Yuki prodded.

"Eh . . . well, I am not always keeping an eye on him" Momiji said sheepishly, then looked down contemplatively. "He was acting as he normally does . . . But . . . something must have happened recently! He seems to be somewhat depressed."

The door separating us from Haru opened up, alerting everyone that his lecture must be over. For now at least.

"Hatsuharu!" Tohru gasped.

Momiji padded up to him, "Haru, the teacher must be very angry, huh!?"

"Yeah . . ." Haru rubbed his neck as he approached us, "He wants to meet my parents. I have to wait for them here."

Haru padded over to me, "Sorry for being so violent Mandy, Tohru." He looked me over, "You are one tough girl."

I smirked, bringing my arm up and flexing. "Don't you forget it kid!"

He turned to Kyo, "Kyo, nice punch"

"Hey . . ."

"Well then. Bye-bye . . ." He started walking away.

"Huh?" Tohru questioned, surprised.

"Where are you going Haru?" Momiji asked.

Haru glanced over his shoulder, "My mother . . . will take over an hour to put on her make-up before she comes here."

"Why is that asshole so selfish?" Kyo groaned.

I fidgeted slightly. Should he be going off on his own right now? Somehow, I didn't think that was suck a good idea at the moment. Haru was obviously off kilter about something, and until it was fixed, someone should stick with him.

Momiji voiced my worries, "Will he be alright by himself?"

"I'll go too" Yuki started after his cousin, "Miss Honda, Miss Cho, I'm sorry! Please go home without me!"

"Ah . . . "

"Let them be," Kyo told her, "Mandy and I are going to, we're already late for Dojo"

I thunked my hand against my forehead, "Damn it!"

With everything going on with Haru, I'd totally spaced that we were going to Kazuma's today. He would understand though, because we were making sure that Haru was okay before we left him to his own devices.

"In our group, Yuki is probably the best person to console him" Momiji reassured Tohru.

"Ye-yes, but I . . . "

She didn't look convinced, so I tugged on her bangs to get her attention. "I'm not going to tell you not to worry, because that's what you do, but I do want you to remember that Yuki is a very special person to Haru. They'll take care of each other."

Kyo sighed, ruffling his hair, looking at Tohru and I. "Ah, how should I put this . . . You shouldn't get so close to Haru when he turns black."

I shrugged, "I just reacted, it's not like I meant to get in the middle of it."

"Eh!?" Tohru squeaked questioningly.

"Because it's dangerous!"

"He's right Ru" I nodded, "Haru isn't in total control of himself when he snaps, it's best to let the boys talk him down."

Not that I really did anything different. But, like hell was I going to stand aside when Tohru was in trouble.

"Eh, but . . . I don't want to be rude to Hatsuharu" Tohru told us, trying to explain her actions.

"He's the rude one!" Kyo exclaimed, before turning on me. "And you should let others deal with situations like that!"

"Hey!" I frowned, "What's your problem?"

"But, doing that . . ."

"Don't you understand at all?!"

"**I DON'T LIKE IT!**" Momiji suddenly cried, a look of determination on his face, which then morphed onto a silly grin. "Hee! I think that's what Kyo wants to say!"

"Eh?!" Tohru blinked, surprised.

Oh. I guess that makes sense. Kyo was just too shy to really say what he meant . . .

I sighed, elbowing Kyo. "Why didn't you just say that then?"

"**Momiji! You should leave too!" **Kyo's fists clenched, **"Don't talk nonsense!"**

I smiled softly and gripped Kyo's hand, gently tugging him along. "Come on you guys, let's get going. I don't want to be any later than we already are."

_**~LINE BREAK~**_

When we got home that night, I was surprised by the presence of a very pretty young man sitting at our table. Hatori was here also, wrapping the pretty boys' ankle.

"Why are Ritsu and Hatori here?" Kyo asked.

Ritsu, who I was assuming was a Sohma, dropped his fish-pastry in distress. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry about him" I said, flapping a hand at Kyo. "He's just perpetually grumpy."

Kyo grumbled and whacked me lightly in the back of my head. I waited a couple of seconds, when he relaxed a bit, I whacked him in the stomach with the back of my hand. He grunted, letting me know my training wasn't all for show.

Hatori smirked, "Hello Amanda, how are you?"

"Great!" I chirped, then turned a smile on Ritsu. "My name is Amanda Cho, but you can call me Mandy. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

He turned and bowed while seated, "Please, the pleasure is mine. I am Ritsu Sohma, please take care of me!"

"Of course" I pointed up, "I'm very sorry, but I am exhausted and I have to finish my homework." I turned to Ritsu, "Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning!"

"G-Goodnight!"

Kyo followed me up the stairs, "How do you know he's staying the night?"

"Hatori was here, Tohru and Ritsu had wrapping on each of them, and he's a member of the Zodiac." I spun around, smiling. "Am I right?"

Kyo scowled up at me because I was a couple of steps above him, "Yeah, so?"

"First, it was Kagura" I held up my hand and counted them off, "Then Hatori, Momiji, Haru, Ayame, Kisa, and Hiro. Me thinks I see a pattern!" I grinned, "That leaves two more!"

A look of horror dawned on his face, poor Kyo looked just about ready to run for the hills. I grinned and waved, going to my bedroom. I had a lot of homework that needed to be done! Math first. Let's get the worst out of the way first, and then it should be smooth sailing from there!

At least, that had been what I'd hoped. Twenty minutes into my math I'd given up and shunted it aside to work on literature, and once that was finished I went straight for history.

I was in the middle of chewing my way through a pencil when Tohru came in, "Hey Ru, you think I could convince Shigure to eat my homework?"

"No" She giggled, sitting on her bed. "I don't think you could."

Bet you Shigure would do it if I told him I'd clean out his office. He was so easily bought. But no, somehow, I feel as though I would end up scarred for life. Who knows what that man has in there?

Eugh . . .

"Forget it" I flopped back, inches away from banging my head on the headboard. "I'll get Uo to help me with it tomorrow. So, Ru, Ritsu Sohma. Do you know what animal he is?"

"He's the monkey!" She clasped her hands together, "I feel so bad, and at first I thought he was a girl! Ritsu was wearing such a pretty kimono . . ."

I propped myself up on my elbows, staring at her. "Ritsu Sohma is a cross-dresser?!"

Tohru nodded, "Yes, I actually found out he was a boy when I broke a plate and tried to stop him from hurting himself!"

"You know" I yawned, "I think it's bed time. This strange life we now live is starting to seem normal."

If Haru snapping in the middle of school and having a cross-dressing man who turned into a monkey didn't faze me, I wasn't quite sure what would. Sleep sounded like the best idea right now. . .

"Goodnight Mandy" Tohru giggled.

"G'night" I rolled over and snuggled into my pillow, "Love you"

"Love you too!"

That last think I felt before sleep took me, was the sensation of my blanket being pulled over my shoulders, and a hand smoothing out my hair.

Tohru really was the best thing to ever happen to me.

* * *

><p><strong>For some reason, I really enjoyed this chapter . . . So I hope you do to!<strong>

**It was actually a lot of fun for me to write, but right now all I want to talk about is the newest Doctor Who episode! Oh my god you guys, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight! But! I must get on with thanking my reviewers!**

**MoonDancer89: Hiro is, in fact, a pain in the ass. But he's an _adorable _pain in the ass. I wish I could just hug Kyo! And I love Uo and Hana too! Thank you for reading and reviewing, it means a lot to me! **

**vanessaainsley: Aww, you make me blush! Thank you for saying that, it's always good to know that you are waiting for my next update. That is in fact the main reason i can get out another chapter! I hope this chapter was as good as the last one!**

**Okay, so I know this is a bit on the rambly side, but I will remind you that it's four minutes to one now and I am very sleep deprived.**

**Goodnight!**

**Please**

**R&R**

**!**


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